Halo: Project Ghost Soldiers
by DantesClover
Summary: Dr. Catherine Halsey is noted for creating the strongest, and incredibly lethal Spartan-II's. However, during the same time, she conducted a secret project of her own titled, "Ghost Soldiers". The idea was to create Spartans that were "Ghosts." Thus, the Null Spartans were born. Join them on the untold story of these Spartans, from the Fall of Reach to beyond.
1. Null Spartans

_This was our last stand. They said back up was coming, but I'm not so sure how accurate that was considering we had been firing round after round since god knows how long. There was only four of us left...soon there would be none. But you know what they say, Spartans don't die...we just go missing in action._

There are many stories of Spartans, and teams during the fall of Reach. However, this is no story of Spartan-III's. Oh no, this is the story of Ghost Team, a black ops operation, and deadly assault team. You may think that those are polar opposites. Sneaking, and then full blown battle. Well, you'd be correct. The team was put together by Dr. Catherine Halsey directly after the Spartan-II training was completed. However, there was something quite unique about these Spartans, referred to by Dr. Halsey as "Null Spartans," they were violent, and always on edge. During the Spartan-II program, there was another project going on within the same division, titled, "Ghost Soldiers." The idea behind this was simple, test tube children. Using tissue samples from several Spartan-I's, and the Spartan-II procedures, test tube babies were designed. Out of several attempts of Ghost Soldiers, all failed...except for seven. This...is their story.

**Planet Reach. Year: 2525, March 2nd.**

Seven children. Seven successes. No, family, non-existent. Test tube, and cloned children. Dr. Halsey had created a milestone in defeating the Covenant army. The seven of them had been successfully smuggled into the Spartan-II training, and had successfully completed it. This was their final test before genetic augmentation.

Halsey stared through the double-sided glass, waiting for the training to start, she had faith in her successes, especially in William, N-Spartan- 001. "He has the makings of a leader." Halsey said to herself.

"Hello children." Halsey said through the intercom.

The seven children stood at attention, "Ma'am." they said in unison.

"This is your final exercise before you begin augmentation. Should you pass, you will be one of my greatest successes." Halsey smiled brightly, she had the utmost faith that they would. "Your objective is simple, capture the flag, and bring it back to base."

"Ha." one of the children seemed to chuckle quietly. They had done the capture the flag exercise a thousand times before.

"However, this one will be much more challenging. Your opponents will be security bots, and other various combat robots I've designed. Keep in mind, that these bots have given the ODST a run for their money." Halsey said, some fear in her voice, "Also...you'll be using live rounds." Halsey swallowed, the children didn't flinch. "When you hear the alarm, well, that's when the mission starts. Are you ready children?" Halsey asked.

"Yes ma'am!" they said in unison, saluting.

Halsey gave a nod, and pressed the button that opened the chamber doors, unleashing the bots.

Seven children, in no specific order, William, Ivan, Ferris, Rachel, Besany, Tyson, and Jack.

"All right guys, we need to load up and stay in cover." William offered, taking command. William was around the physical age of fourteen, yet had the mental capacity of a sixteen year old, despite him being only twelve standard years old. All of the Null Spartans were this way, they had sped up genes, meaning they aged quicker, there was a remedy for this which would be given in the genetic augmentations...but that was if they passed.

"Who died and made you in charge?" Tyson, the young African American child countered. Despite being cloned of various tissues of Spartan-I's, they were given tissue from other males and females.

"Come on." William chuckled, the young boy rubbed his nose, "Now is no time for arguing."

"Billy's right." Rachel said, loading a magazine into her M6D, "Let's focus on securing the flag."

"I count fourteen robots." Besany said, peering through the giant sliding metal door.

Jack said nothing as he readied his pistol, and planted into cover.

"All right," William said, "Jack, Besany, and Tyson, you three flank left. Rachel, Ivan you two go right. Ferris and I will head for the flag." William ordered.

The chamber, or room, was around the size of a football field, not a stadium, but a football field. There was nine foot blocks placed all around the battlefield, and right in the center was the whit flag, planted firmly in the center.

Jack nodded, and slapped Besany on the shoulder signaling her to move up, while he took point, Tyson was close behind them.

Ivan, the largest of the seven, took point while Rachel followed behind him. William and Ferris still waited in cover as the team made their assault.

Jack had a strong dislike for William, he didn't hate him, but when he started barking orders like he was a goddamn Captain, it tended to piss him off.

The children had no armor on, other then their camouflage pants, combat boots, bullet proof vests, and the comm in their ears there was nothing else protecting them.. But they would make do with what they had.

Jack planted behind one of the blocks, and motion with his hand for Tyson to follow, Tyson nodded, and quickly crouched to cover, followed by Besany. Suddenly a metallic whirring noise was heard.

"Contact!" Jack yelled, aiming down his sights, and firing the M6D with deadly accuracy, the security bots head exploded with shrapnel, and metal.

Tyson peeked out of cover, only to come face to face with one of the bots. He slammed the butt of his pistol onto the bots skull, and then fired two rounds through it's head.

Besany was next, as she swapped cover, bullets whizzed passed her, she fired blindly from cover, one of the rounds catching the bot in the torso, twice, killing it.

The bots were strong, and at least six feet tall. They were skinny, aside from their torso and head. Which made incapacitating them difficult, as taking out their legs was what they assumed would be best. But no, going for the kill shot was what they would need to do from here on out.

Ivan, and Rachel quickly dispatched two more bots. William still in cover, waiting for his chance.

Five bots down, that means there was nine left.

"William, Ferris your clear!" Jack said, having a visual on the flag.

"Gotcha!" William said, weaving through the blocks with great speed, Ferris right on his heels.

"Ah!" Besany screamed, as one of the bots picked her up.

"Damn." Tyson swore as he was pinned down, and couldn't get a lock on the bot that held Besany.

Jack took action, running to the bot, and slamming his fist into its head, he felt the heat of his blood spill down his knuckles. The bot dropped Besany, and turned its attention to Jack.

"Bad idea, bad idea..." Jack repeated as he backed away.

"Jack!" Besany waved.

Jack dropped his gun, and kicked it to Besany who fired two rounds into its back, while Jack tackled it from behind.

"I have visual on the flag!" William yelled over the comm.

Meanwhile, Ivan, and Rachel, were staying in cover, "Hurry up and grab it!" Ivan yelled, firing blindly from cover. Rachel taking potshots as well.

"William not yet!" Ferris pushed William down, diving into cover with him, as a bot sprung up from behind the flag, and fired an assault rifle at them.

The bot fell to the floor, and Besany kicked it full force in the head, while Jack slammed his foot down on top of it.

"Nice one." Jack said, high-fiving Besany.

"You too." Besany chuckled, handing him back his pistol, and retrieving hers.

"How many is that?" Besany asked.

"That was our sixth." Jack said, counting on his fingers.

"That means there's eight left." Rachel said, quick with numbers.

"Seven." Ferris said, diving from cover, and firing a round clean through the heavy bots head.

"Regroup!" William barked.

Jack, Besany, Ivan, Tyson, and Rachel moved quickly to where William and Ferris were.

"Everyone here?" William asked.

They all nodded.

"Good, there's seven left." William said, "Spread out, and clean house. I'll wait with the flag."

"Roger." they said, moving out.

"Hey, Besany?" Jack said.

"What?" Besany asked turning around.

"I've got an idea." Jack smirked.

"Oh, I'm taking this." Ivan said, picking up the MA5 assault rifle, the round counter on the front of it counted 12, "Any magazines?" Ivan asked.

"Here." Ferris said, tossing him a mag, "That was on the bot."

"Nice." Ivan said, reloading.

"I want a cool gun!" Tyson complained, as he followed Jack.

One of the bots came from behind William and tackled him to the floor, "Ivan!" William yelled, trying to shoot the bot.

"I got him!" Ivan yelled, firing the assault rifle, rounds shredded the metal being, and it collapsed.

Rachel rushed to William pushing the bot off of his body, "Help me guys." Rachel gasped, as the bot was quite heavy for one person. Yet alone a teen.

"That means there's only six left." Ferris said, helping out Rachel.

"You're nuts." Besany said, dropping to her knee's, "Tyson come help me!"

"What's going on?" Tyson said, moving over to their position.

"Jack here has a 'plan'." Besany said sarcastically.

"Just lift me on the damn block." Jack growled.

Tyson shrugged, and dropped to a knee as well, and lifting Jack up on to the block, Jack reached his hands upward, and pulled himself up. "Okay I'm up." Jack said, dusting off his pants, "Toss me my gun."

"Here." Tyson said, tossing it to him.

"Thanks." Jack said, scoping out the field. "I only count five." Jack said.

"That's cause we dropped to more over here." Rachel said over her comm.

"Gotcha." Jack said, holstering his gun, and jumping from one block to the other.

"Easy there Jack." Besany warned, "The last thing you want is to fall."

"Or break your ankle." Tyson chuckled.

"Shut up." Jack scoffed, almost slipping, "Shit!" he muttered.

"You fell didn't you?" Besany laughed.

Jack struggled, but finally pulled himself up. "No." he panted.

"Guys, focus." William said, pulling out the flag. "Ivan, you get our six, Ferris you get my right, and Rachel you get my left."

"Roger." Rachel said.

"You got it." Ivan turned around, and checked the round counter displaying 24 more shots.

"On my way." Ferris hustled over.

"Guys there's only four left." Tyson said, as Besany and him took down one more together. "Besany and I are moving to your position." Tyson said.

"Where's Jack?" William asked.

"Left!" Rachel yelled, firing her pistol.

The bot rushed them, and was met with a face full of bullets.

"They're using the diamond formation!" Halsey said, in awe.

Tyson took an empty spot on the left side, next to Rachel, and Besany took the right with Ferris.

"That means there's three more, right?" William asked.

Jack finally caught his breathe, and heard the sound of metal walking past him. "I see them." he whispered.

"Jack, regroup with us. We've got the flag." William said.

Jack got to the tip of the block, and breathed in several times.

"What's he doing?" Halsey said aloud, staring at Jack.

It was now or never, he would either do it, or he wouldn't...no time to feel fear. Jack jumped from the block, landing full force onto the bot, he fired left, twice. Two rounds went clean through the bots face. Jack grabbed it's arm, and using the momentum, he fell with its body to the floor, curling up behind its torso, as the other two bots fired their pistols at him, Jack, kicked full force at the bot, knocking the two bots feet out from under them.

Jack jumped on one, and fired. Disabling the second bot. But Jack wasn't supernatural. And there was no way he could have blocked that third bots kick to the face.

Jack flew back a good four feet, landing on his chest, "Fuck..." Jack groaned, the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.

Jack's pistol slid far away from his grasp. The bot stalked over to him, Jack frantically crawled for his gun.

"Does anybody see Jack?" Tyson asked, as they weaved through the many blocks of cover.

The bot lifted Jack, his feet dangled from the floor, Jack slammed his left fist into the bots face.

"Gah!" he yelled in pain, as his knuckles bled.

The bot pulled his arm back, and was about to punch, when the last 24 rounds of Ivan's assault rifle ripped through the bot. Jack fell to the floor.

"You okay?" Ferris asked, helping him up.

"Yeah." Jack said, wiping his mouth.

"Let's go!" William smiled, "Mission Complete."

The seven of them were laughing as they made their way back to the metal doors they exited from, their guard down...

"Nice job Willy." Jack said.

"Thanks." William said, as they approached the metal doors.

Ivan opened the door, their guard was down, so nobody was prepared for what happened next.

A combat bot leapt from behind the doors, tackling Ivan, and breaking the assault rifle in half. Rachel went to fire, but was punched in the face.

"Con-" Ferris tried to yell but was disarmed by the bot, who turned to William, and fired.

Jack, felt as he felt when he took on those three bots alone...he had not time to feel fear, he only had time to react.

"Down!" Jack yelled, pushing William out of the way, and catching the round in the chest. Besany was quick with it, and fired everything left in her magazine, the bot buzzed, and collapsed to the floor.

"Jack!" Tyson yelled, running to him, Besany behind him.

Jack pointed to the metal doors, barely breathing.

Tyson looked up, and noticed William was inside, the flag secured, the mission complete.

"Someone get the medic!" Ivan yelled.

Halsey had already called the medics, and they were on their way.

"Just stay awake." Ferris said.

"Yeah..." Jack coughed, blinking rapidly.

"Jesus, he's losing a lot of blood." Besany said, putting pressure on the wound.

The medics appeared, and placed him on a stretcher.

The remaining six went to go with him, but were stopped.

"You need to remain here." the medic medic said.

"Let me go!" Rachel pushed him.

"He'll be okay." the medic assured. "We promise."

**Location, the Null Spartans bunks. Two hours later.**

Ivan Tyson, and Ferris sat at the table playing cards, as they usually did, the only thing missing was Jack...

William sat on his bunk, cleaning his boots, as he always did when he was nervous, Rachel was using the shower. And Besany laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling, and her dog tags. As well as the small blue lotus flower, that Jack had given her a few years ago. She hoped he would be okay...she prayed he would be okay.

Halsey walked down the hall of the Null Compound, a base hidden...hidden from ONI, and even hidden in some cases from the UNSC. Only the UNSC stationed on this base new of it. As well as Captain Keyes, and Several other members Halsey made aware of...such as Cortana.

The automatic door opened, and Halsey entered their bunks, the six children dropped what they were doing, and saluted instantly, Besany dropping from her bunk quickly, even Rachel who was in a towel, saluted.

"I have good news..." Halsey smiled, "Jack will be okay. He gave us quite a scare, but he managed to pull through."

The children sighed in relief.

"All that being said, I'm giving you one week off. In preparation for the next step of your training. Which will be augmentation." Halsey said.

"Thank you ma'am." William said.

"When can we see Jack?" Besany asked.

"He'll joining you in your quarters tonight." Halsey said.

"Oh, good." Tyson breathed, as well as Ferris, and the rest of the children. Children might seem like a young term for fourteen year old's. But hey, that's what they were.

"Rest easy." Halsey said, as she left the bunks, and the automatic door hissed shut.

The six children sat in silence, and then Ivan broke the silence by lifting up Ferris, and hugging him.

"He's gonna be okay!" Ivan yelled.

"Yeah." Ferris groaned, "You're crushing me..."

"Oh sorry." Ivan chuckled.

Ivan was easy the largest of the seven, standing at 5'9, he was also the heaviest. He had a buzz cut, and spoke in a Russian accent. It was interesting hearing him talk.

And for a guy like Ferris, who was around 5'5 he felt like he was being broken by the giant guy. He wasn't the smallest of the team, but he was quite tiny for a dude. He refused to have any type of hair, and so he was bald.

Tyson on the other hand, had as much hair that was allowed in regulations. It was the standard military cut, but slightly longer, and in an eraser top style, which made the 5'7 seem just as tall as William, who, on the other hand, followed the regulations, and protocol to a T, and was 5'8. His hair was a simple buzz cut as well and the same as Ivan's.

For girls like Rachel, her hair was important, however, she maintained a short cut hair style, always keeping it in a bun, the brunette was smart, and the shortest of the team, standing at 5'4.

Besany on the other hand, liked the think she was as tall as Tyson, standing in at 5'6 but prided in being taller than Ferris. The blonde, kept her hair the same as Rachel, though sometimes she wished she could cut it all off. As it tended to get in the way of combat.

"I wonder if he was scared." Rachel said, as she walked out from the bathroom, now clothed in her normal fatigues.

"Shit, I know I would be." Tyson said.

"He didn't seem like it...he just pushed William down as fast as he could, and then took a bullet to the chest." Ferris said, drawing a card from the deck.

Ivan nodded in agreement.

"Well, we'll just have to wait when we see him tonight." Besany said.

**Later that night.**

Jack approached the cafeteria. His knuckles, and hands had gauze around them from the injuries he sustained when punching bits, and his chest was bandaged. He felt like a crippled, he didn't know why they gave him crutches, he could walk just fine. He stared down the hall, as he limped, his chest aching. Maybe that's why they gave him crutches...

The walls he had stared at since as long as he could remember, everything was the same to him. He wondered what other people thought of this facility. Or if they even knew. The base was located...hell if Jack knew. But he knew it had to be either near, or even on Reach. Because the Null Spartan and his companions were always smuggled into class. And other various training exercises. Though they had their own exercises and training as well. Theirs were a bot more...well let's just say, Halsey felt a separate feeling of guilt for what she put her Nulls through...

"Jack!" Besany waved, as Jack entered the cafeteria.

The six of them all waved to him as he entered, Ivan, Ferris and William, clapping.

Jack chuckled, as he hobbled over to them, "Hey guys..." Jack said, as he sat down, wincing in pain.

"I had to fight with that bitch of a cafeteria lady, but I managed to get a second plate for you, so you wouldn't have to wait in line." Tyson chuckled, sliding him a plate.

"Thanks man." Jack said, as he reached for a fork.

The six watched as their returned comrade ate.

"Uh...guys..." Jack said, his mouth full, "This is kind of weird..." he laughed.

"Oh sorry." William shook his head, "So, uh..."

"Did it hurt?" Rachel asked, when Besany elbowed her in the ribs, "Ow! What?"

"I'm sure he's gonna tell you it felt great!" Besany rolled her eyes.

"Easy now, Bess." William said.

"Shut up, only Jack calls me that." Besany growled.

Which was true.

"Just can it will you." William yelled.

"Whoa! You can't talk to a lady like that." Ferris intervened.

"Trying to be a ladies man Ferris?" Tyson chuckled.

"Maybe he's sticking up for his teammate." Ivan butted in.

"By teaming up against one." William retorted.

"Oh...I missed you guys..." Jack laughed, as his team argued amongst themselves. Like one big, experimental and dysfunctional family.


	2. Who swung first?

**Planet: Somewhere on Harvest. November 30th, 2526.**

The sky glistened blue, very rarely did a Spartan take the time to stare at the sky. And this was no exception, but when you attempt to throw a grenade back, the usual outcome is death...but not for Spartans.

"Jack!" a voice rang through Jack's helmet comm. "You gotta get up!"

"Come on Jack, stand!" another voice ran through his helmet. Jack struggled, as his helmet was cracked, and his HUD was fizzling in and out. The sound of MA5B assault rifle fire was loud and distinct within Jack's HUD. "Besany move to Jack!" a more matured William ordered.

"Moving, Rachel, cover me!" Besany said, reloading her DMR and moving to the fallen Jack's position.

"I got your sniper support!" Rachel said, peering down the scope of her Sniper Rifle.

"I got your six!" Ivan yelled, the giant Spartan ripped the turret off the Warthog they took to get here, and fired at the Covenant on their tail. Besany ran and jumped down from the rocky terrain, landing on the grassy plains, where Jack was laying, face to the sky.

"Jack!" Besany yelled, running to his side, "Look at me, look at me." she said, popping the seal to his helmet, revealing an extremely pale face, as all Spartan-II's had.

"Look at me...Jack!" Besany yelled, "How many fingers am I holding up?" Besany asked, holding up three.

"Three." Jack said, shaking his head.

Besany opened up her tactical pad on her wrist, "I'm gonna show you six images, and then ask you how they appeared in reverse order." Besany said, pressing the button on her wrist, when the test started. The first was an Ace of Spades, the next was an apple, then two dice rolled in the number of seven, followed by a bald eagle with the American flag, and the last one being a picture of a blue lotus flower.

"Blue lotus flower, the American flag and a bald eagle, two dice, their number combined was seven, an apple, and an Ace of Spades." Jack said, gaining composure.

"Good." Besany said, grabbing his arm, "Come on." she said, pulling him back to where the other Spartans were. Jack pulled his helmet back on, and loaded shell after shell into his Shotgun.

"Trade you." Tyson said, tossing him the DMR.

"Good deal." Jack said, tossing him the shotgun. Jack regrouped with William. Pouncing on an unsuspecting Grunt, and turning his neck completely around, snapping it, then firing three rounds from the DMR into an incoming Jackal, and two more grunts. The color of purple, green, and orange neon blood, stained the grass.

"Fuck!" Jack yelled, as a Sangheli charged into him, energy sword drawn. Jack drew his blade, and slammed it into it's throat. As Tyson pumped three shotgun shells into its back. Blue blood stained Jack's black, or rather gun metal gray, and white MJOLNIR armor, "Well shit." Tyson said, helping Jack up.

"Any closer, and you would have shot my head off." Jack chuckled, as he stood up.

"Regroup on me!" William yelled, as the Spartans regrouped.

They had grown so much in the past year, for the better. "All right guys." William said, removing his helmet, "Halsey wants us to eliminate the Sangheli warrior known as, Vahl Thren. Apparently he's one of the directors of a Sangheli fleet. He's high up in the rank of command. But if we kill him-"

"We give the others something to be scared of." Jack chimed in.

"Right." William said, wiping his brow, the guy still had a military cut, and to the T. But his face had changed much since when they were kids. Technically they were 15 to 16 years of age. But they looked, and acted much like adults. Typically the Spartan-II's wouldn't take on assassination missions yet. But these weren't regular Spartan-II's, they were Null Spartans.

"Any information on how many goddamn enemies we have on this Planet?" Besany asked, kicking a dead Elite in the head.

"Well, this planet is currently at battle with the UNSC, I wouldn't be surprised if we see some other Spartan-II's around here." William said.

"But were supposed to be ghosts." Tyson chuckled. "Nice idea for the helmets by the way Jack."

All of the Null Spartans had enhanced MJOLNIR Mark IV power armor. However, they were given new helmets as well. Each helmet was their own choice. Jack chose a JFO helmet, but opting for a black visor instead of the standard color. Each had specific armor pieces, and styles, each to their own flavor. For instance, Jack, was the first to scratch a skull into his helmet, but he also carved a 7 on his left shoulder armor which was Commando armor. Seven being that he was Null Spartan 007, as well as when Jack stood straight, you saw a spider in the center of his armor, with eight legs that stretched across his armor, very hard to see the white, but when you looked closely it was there. He carried a knife on the left side of his chest, and spare ammunition on his right shoulder. And last but not least, there was some slight cloth around his helmet, which he would pull over his helmet when on sniping missions.

Besany, on the other hand, chose to have a Recon helmet, and special tactics goggles, opting for a silver visor, she too scratched a skull into her helmet. Then painting red in the form of puckered lips on her chest piece, which was a cobalt color.

Ivan had, what Jack deemed, the most bad ass set of armor he'd ever seen. Opting for a Grenadier helmet, and scratching a skull into it as well, keeping the standard visor as well. Ivan chose to have carry EVA shoulder pads, and a large chest plate. It was an extremely dark green, and the shoulder pads were black.

William wore the standard Mark IV armor, making an adjustment in the color, as he was a fan of brown, or as he called it, '_Mud stained_.'

Tyson was a fan of SPI armor, he thought shields were for pussy's, and well he hadn't died since. He scratched a skull on the front of his helmet also.

And lastly, being Rachel, she found that the Mark IV armor was what she liked best as well. Though switching the helmet for the Scout variant, and coloring her armor a dark purple, she was the girliest.

Jack removed his helmet, whenever looking at Jack, William always wondered how, or why Halsey tolerated him. He barely passed in regulations, having enough hair that was visible in a mohawk shape, and the guy almost always had five o'clock shadow, which wasn't a problem, it just annoyed William.

"Guys, my HUD's busted." Jack sighed.

"We got a spare in the Pelican." William said, "JFO right?"

"Yep." Jack said, slumping down, the spider on his chest was visible, and often caused his teammates to stare.

Besany removed her helmet, followed by everyone else. All had extremely pale skin, save for Tyson. Who prided in his African American heritage.

"Hey..." Ivan said, scratching his beard, "Wasn't Today...you know..."

"The day we had Ferris' memorial?" Rachel chimed in.

"Yeah it was." Jack said.

"I miss him." Tyson sighed, "He always seemed to have a positive outlook."

"Halsey said, he died happy." William said.

"He didn't deserve that...fuck with his system, and then he dies." Jack spat, "It's not fair."

"No, it's not..." Besany said, "But you know that's what he wanted."

Jack nodded, as much as he hated to agree, he knew it was true. Maybe, that's what ate at him the most. That Ferris' death was completely out of his hands...

"I'll go grab that helmet." William said.

"I got your six." Tyson said, following him.

Rachel, Ivan, Jack, and Besany all sat around and waited for the others.

"Jack your bleeding." Besany said, noticing the giant gash across his eyebrow.

Jack touched his head, "Oh yeah."

"Rachel, do you have the med kit?" Besany asked.

"You got it Scout." Rachel said. "Tossing her the kit."

Scout, that's what Ghost Team called Besany, Scout, being the one that was confident in her sniper skills. All of Ghost team had nicknames. William was called Boss, Ivan was called Mech, though due to the Russians heavy accent, Jack often called him Sputnik. Rachel was called Lady. Tyson loved his nickname of Heavy. However, when it came to Jack, it was odd. Most of Ghost team called him Jack, but when on missions, they called him Demon. However, he often heard Ghost Team, Rachel, and William specifically, refer to him as 'Death.' But he pushed this aside.

"All right, let's take a look at that eye Demon." Besany said, as she soaked up some of the blood with cotton. "You might need a stitch or two."

It was weird for Jack being this close to Besany. A breathes distance away. The genetic augmentations the Spartan-II's went through, involved pushing aside sexual arouses, and stimulants/ attractions. Not shutting them down completely, or so they were told. But they would be pushed aside, as there would be no need for them. However, being Null Spartans, Ghost Team actually ignored some of the augmentations, and genetic enhancements. Though this was unknown to Dr. Halsey. For instance, Tyson, was always women crazy. Often joking that he would sneak into the barracks, and get it on with one of the UNSC soldiers who had stumped him in a training exercise. He hated losing, but he hated losing to women most.

However, aside from the sexual re-productivity of the Null Spartans, it didn't appear that they ignored any of the other augmentations. In fact, the augmentations, seemed enhanced within them.

"This might hurt." Besany said, sticking the needle through Jack's eyebrow, Jack didn't flinch.

"Ew." Ivan winced, "I can assure you, I'd be screaming like a bitch."

"Figured, you're just like an elephant, Sputnik. Big bad and dangerous, but scared of mice." Jack laughed, as he tensed up from the pain in his brow. Besany working quickly, trying not to draw it out.

"That is true Comrade." Ivan laughed, as he checked the ammo of the turret, "Lady, I'm almost out of ammunition, is there anymore in the other Warthog?"

"I'll go check." Rachel said, skipping quickly to the second Warthog. "I got 500 rounds total here. Separated into two sets of 250."

"Perfect!" Ivan yelled, standing completely straight, the guy was nearly 8'0, he was huge. Everyone else had grown a lot as well, but their heights evened out now. Jack and William were the tallest, standing at 7'1. Where as Tyson, Rachel, and Besany stood at just a plain 7'0. "I'll be right over." Ivan said, walking towards the hog.

Jack stared at the blue blood stained spot on his knee's. Not really looking up.

"Jack..." Besany said, placing her hand over his, "What's wrong?"

"Are we gonna die?" Jack blurted out, having thought this countless times, the words finally loosed themselves free.After all_, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."_

"What's got you thinking like that?" Besany asked, although the Spartans were pale, Ghost Team seemed often had rare moments of actually visibly colored skin. Instead of a paleish hue.

"You remember when I took a bullet for William?" Jack asked, going to scratch his eyebrow. Besany slapped his hand away.

"Don't!" she said, "You'll open the stitching."

"Okay, okay." Jack raised his hands in a surrendering manner, "You didn't answer my question."

Besany stood quiet awhile, "Yeah...I do. But what has that got to do with anything?"

"You remember when Ferris died?" Jack asked.

"Yes, we were just talking of that." Besany said.

"What if I were to die?" Jack asked, "Were soldiers."

"No," Besany corrected, "Were Spartans...Null Spartans, I don't even know what the fuck that means, but Halsey seems to believe it makes different than just regular Spartan-II's."

"But why?" Jack asked.

"I don't-"

"All right, JFO helmet, black visor, ready to go." William said, tossing Jack the helmet, "You're gonna have to scratch the skull into it again."

Besany smiled weakly, and then grabbed her helmet, moving towards Ivan and Rachel.

"Thanks, Boss." Jack said, grabbing his helmet, and starting to scratch the skull into it with his knife.

"What was that?" Tyson nudged Jack.

"What?" Jack asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

"You and Besany..." Tyson chuckled.

"Oh shut up." Jack said, pulling on his helmet, and grabbing his DMR.

"Demon, and Besany, sitting in a tree, sniping C-O-V-E-N-A-N-T." Tyson laughed.

Jack shook his head, as he followed William back to the hogs. "Something funny Demon?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah," Jack chuckled, "Your kill count."

"Oh...you!" Ivan laughed heavily, "I'll get to your number one day."

"It's not about numbers." William said quickly.

Jack had the highest kill count of any enemies, from Grunts, to Jackals, to Elites, even humans. Jack was a killing machine. That's the main reason Ghost Team referred to him as "Death."

"All right check this out." William said, "Looks like we've got a tunnel entrance, and a mountain top view. We can go in by the mountains, and do some recon. Regroup back here at 0600, rest, and then tomorrow move in for the kill." William said.

"Well, if we see him today, why not just take the shot?" Tyson said.

"Because that would jeopardize Spartans already in the field." Rachel said, putting in her two sense.

"Not necessarily." William corrected, "Were Ghost Team, invisible, we don't exist, we need to have the enemy believe we don't exist."

"So why don't we just kill them all?" Ivan smiled beneath his helmet.

"Because were only going after Vahl." Besany said, sounding annoyed, "Leave it to boys to want to kill everything."

Jack and Ivan gave each other a high five.

"Well, how's about Scout, Heavy, and I, sneak into the compound, and grab some of their plans-" Jack was saying when Rachel interrupted. "Like movement, and squad positioning plans?"

"Yeah, like where Vahl plans to be on certain days, rotations, etc." Jack said.

"You know Demon, that's not a bad idea." William said, "We'd have much more leeway with predicting his course of direction. But also have a higher chance of success."

"So that settles it." Jack said, "We'll take the tunnels, sneak into base at nightfall, and grab some plans, and then regroup here."

"Right, Mech, Lady, and I will scope out the rest of Harvest, looking for anything that might be useful." William said.

"Perfect." Tyson pumped his shotgun.

"We'll leave tonight then." Besany asked.

"Yeah," Jack said, grabbing a silenced M6D, "Were going in quiet," Jack said, grabbing two Silenced Sub-Machine guns, "So pack silently."

"Just like a Ghost." Besany chuckled.

Jack loaded rounds into the magazine, _So Ferris, what's it feel like to be a Ghost?_

**Planet: Reach. March 9th, 2525.**

The automatic doors hissed open as Dr. Halsey entered the room, "How is he?" she asked one of her the biogentic scientists, he looked like a monster tormenting a child, with the all white cloak, and the mask that only showed his eyes. But Halsey knew that this was the only way.

"Vitals are weak..." he said, "He's refusing the pain medication."

"Jack..." Halsey said, as Jack laid in the hospital bed, tubes, needles, and other various things shoved into his body's skin. "How do you feel?"

Jack licked his chapped, and dry lips, "Piece of cake doc..." he coughed slightly, "How's...how..." he tried speaking but it was painful."

"Shh, shh." Halsey said, patting his hand, "Try and rest."

"Willy..." Jack said, "He's alive?"

Halsey, turned around to leave, "Yes, Jack...he's hanging in there. All of your team is, you just stay strong."

"Aye, aye mom." Jack said, although he meant 'Ma'am.'

Halsey brushed a tear from her face, the feeling of guilt overwhelmed her. It was one thing to kidnap children, and do this to them. But it was a whole other thing to create children, and do this to them as an experiment. She just hoped the ends justified the means.

**Twenty-one days later.**

Jack sat on his bunk, now completely altered, standing at 7'1, the child who laid here before was long gone. And although technically still fourteen. The augmentations had changed every Spartan drastically. Jack clenched his fists in and out. Dog tags of Null Spartan 006, known as Ferris to them, and Halsey.

The funeral service for Spartan-II's was today. However, Halsey promised the Null Spartans, a separate service for Ferris tomorrow, as Nulls were ghosts...and ghosts weren't supposed to be seen.

The, now six, Null Spartans would have to move on, it's what Ferris would have wanted. They each grieved differently. Ivan worked on any vehicle he could get his hand on, William was busy reading documents, and Bios on several of the soldiers stationed here. Tyson spent all day at the firing range, firing guns from the moment he woke up, until he laid his head down to sleep. Rachel never really got out of bed. Besany went outside as often as possible. And Jack...well...Jack had his own way of coping with things.

The training rooms were opened. That's where Jack spent every day. Beating the punching bag senseless, doing push ups until he felt his arms were gonna fall off. And running until he collapsed. Today was different though. As he entered the training room, he noticed some UNSC soldiers training there as well. Which was odd to him. So he went to go see how Ivan was doing. Walking down the halls of the facility, he heard feet behind him. The augmentations took much getting use to.

"Jack." Halsey said.

"Ma'am." Jack saluted.

"At ease." she said quickly, hating when they did that. "Where are you headed?"

"I was going to the garage, see how Ivan was doing." Jack answered, straight, and tall.

"Jack, relax." Halsey said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "You may be Spartans. But you are human."

Jack nodded, not wanting to feel emotions, he hated it, he felt weak.

"Ferris was a good soldier." Halsey said, "I'm sorry he didn't-"

"We all are." Jack interrupted, "All six of us..."

"Jack, it's fine that you feel upset. You're angry, I know you are." Halsey said, "Are you angry with me?"

Jack swallowed, hard, "I..."

"Because I subjected you seven to the augmentations?" Halsey asked, "I gave the order."

Jack wiped his nose quickly, "Permission to continue on to the garage ma'am?"

"Jack..." Halsey said, realizing just how close Ferris and Jack were.

"Permission..." Jack turned his face suddenly wiping his eyes, "Permission to continue to the garage ma'am?"

"Permission granted, Null Spartan-007." Halsey said, with regret in her voice, before saying, "You may go Jack."

"Thank you ma'am." Jack saluted, turning on his heel to leave, "Thanks mom..." he whispered under his breathe. Halsey smiled at this, and watched Jack leave.

"Ivan?" Jack yelled, "You in here?"

"Over here!" Ivan waved, under a Warthog.

"What are you working on?" Jack asked, as Ivan rolled out from underneath the Hog. His face was bearded. "Whoa! When did you grow a beard?" Jack chuckled.

Ivan touched his face, "Huh, overnight." he chuckled.

Several ODST, in full gear were in the garage with them. Around six of them, sitting, and standing around. Jack ignored them focusing on Ivan.

"I fixed like eight hogs in the past four days." Ivan laughed, "The mechanic guys were saying that it normally takes them one full week to repair a Warthog."

"Damn." Jack chuckled, "You're a busy man."

"Maybe you guys should loose teammates more often, works wonders for us guys out in the field." an ODST said from the background, him and his buddies chucking.

"What'd you say?" Jack said, turning towards them, when Ivan grabbed his arm.

"Easy." Ivan said.

"Yeah." the ODST said, "Listen to big man over there."

Jack grabbed the nearest thing to him, which happened to be a screwdriver, and shaking free from Ivan's gripped, started to walk over to them, "You think you're funny?" Jack said, the ODST responded, by slamming a punch into his face, all bets were off now.

"Jack!" Ivan yelled, but it was too late, Jack had already slammed the screwdriver deep into the ODST's neck. "Oh shit Randy!" one of them yelled, meanwhile another one swung a punch. Everything in Jack's vision was slowed down when it came to combat, or it appeared slowed down. As Spartans were more than twice as fast as a normal human being. Jack caught the punch, and delivered one of his own to the ODST's rib cage, he heard a crack, and heard someone move up behind him. Jack, still gripping the ODST's hand, flung him into the ODST behind him, knocking him back. Ivan had joined the fray, and had already dispatched two of them. Being very careful not to kill them. Jack wasn't as light. He knew he had already killed one, but he couldn't stop himself. Everything flashed through his mind, his anger, Ferris dying, Halsey. Everything. Jack stood to face another attacker, as he swung a punch, Jack blocked inward, and then grabbed his face, and slammed it to the pavement. Then tackling the last one, and slamming his fists into his face.

"Jack!" Halsey yelled, as several UNSC soldiers ran in, their MA5B assault rifles drawn. "Stand down, now!" she ordered.

Jack seemed to wake up from a trance, as he realized that blood drenched his knuckles, but not his blood. The blood of the ODST. With a screwdriver in ones neck, one with his face caved in on the pavement, and the other with Jack mounted on top of him. He had just killed four ODST's in full gear, minus the helmets. He felt like a monster...an uncontrolled ghost. A Demon...

**A few hours later, in Halsey's office.**

Jack sat in a chair, twiddling his thumbs as he did when he was nervous. He felt like a kid being sent to the principals office. Except this was no simple rough play, this was manslaughter.

"I'm gonna ask you one time...one time Jack..." Halsey said, "I know the truth, but I want to know if you'll tell me the truth. Who swung first?" Halsey asked.

Jack swallowed hard, he knew that he walked up with intent to harm, he knew that he asked what one of them had said, he also knew that the ODST had punched him in the face, but for once, he didn't know how to answer the question. He could easily tell her the truth. But...

"Ma'am..." Jack licked his lips, "I want to tell you the truth, but I don't want it to jeopardize my comrades. Or have them face consequences in anyway..." Jack said.

"Just answer the question Jack." Halsey ordered, the look of impatience on her face. Jack nodded, and after a long pause, he finally answered.


	3. The beginning stages

**Planet: Somewhere on Harvest. November 30th 2526.**

Ghost Team made proper preparationsfor the sneaking mission they would soon engage on. Although only, half of them were going. It was imperative that they brought the necessary equipment. Otherwise they would be in deep trouble.

"Scout," Rachel said, approaching her, "I need to speak with you."

"What's going on?" Jack perked up quickly, noticing the expression on Rachel's face change.

"Nothing that concerns you Demon." Rachel replied quickly, "Besany, now." Rachel, said, her face quite serious.

Besany nodded, and set down her sniper rifle, "I hate getting in trouble..." she sighed.

Jack popped the seal to his helmet, and set it down on the table next to him, the skull looked strange on the JFO helmet, but it was by far quite intimidating. Probably because as soon as you saw the skull plastered on it, it meant you were two seconds away from Death...literally.

"Hey, Demon, I know it's supposed to be a quiet mission, but I went ahead and packed, a shotgun." Tyson chuckled, "I mean you never know."

"Heavy, there's no way I could _stop _you, from packing a shotgun." Jack smirked, "That's like trying to convince William to grow a mullet."

"Har, har." William joked.

"Ha!" Tyson laughed, "I'd like to see that."

"You know the place is gonna be swarming with Covenant, right?" Ivan stood propped against the Warthog.

"I'm aware." Jack said, knowing that Ivan had a knack for trying to make him nervous, something he would do even during training, they had a very strange rivalry. Ivan having around one hundred less kills then him, they competed constantly.

"So, what if one of them goes like this!" Ivan went for Jack's sidearm. Jack reacted, by slamming his elbow into Ivan's helmet, moving like water, he wrapped his arm around Ivan's neck.

"Then I'll choke him out." Jack struggled, as Ivan tried to shake Jack off of him.

"Okay, okay! Uncle!" Ivan tapped, laughing slightly, as Jack hopped off of him. "That hurt man."

"I didn't even have my helmet on!" Jack said defensively.

"Yes, but you were well prepared. So...ya know good job..." Ivan laughed, as he rubbed his neck, "Remind me never to play Gravball with you..."

"Oh Demon..." William shook his head, "Always horsing around."

Ivan smirked beneath his helmet. Meanwhile, Tyson, and Jack went back to loading up on equipment for their next mission, or rather next phase of their mission.

Rachel and Besany walked clear from hearing range of the rest of Ghost Team. "I need to talk to you about something, and I need a straight up answer." Rachel said, suddenly turning kind of giddy.

"Okay, what is it?" Besany asked, her arms folded, and helmet in hand.

"What's going on with you and Demon?" Rachel asked, suddenly not making eye contact with Besany, as she stared at the ground.

"Me and Jack?" Besany asked, almost exasperated, "What about us...I mean, what about me and him?" Besany corrected herself, trying to remain obscure.

"You look at him, I see you." Rachel pointed, "Do you like him?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Besany gawked, "Were friends, all of us are friends, me and Ivan are friends."

"You don't look at Ivan like you look at Jack." Rachel rebuked, "I've never seen you run so fast for a fallen teammate."

"He caught a grenade!" Besany yelled, "He could've, and should've been seriously hurt." she seemed that this argument was strong, but Rachel didn't think so.

"You know I can tell when you're lying." Rachel said, noticing a glint of blue in her hair, "Is that..." she pointed, "That is!"

"What?" Besany said, touching the flower Jack had gave her, and her pale complexion turned nearly completely red.

"You like him!" Rachel yelled, "He gave you that flower right before we had augmentations done!"

"No, he gave me a white lotus flower before augmentations...fuck..." Besany quickly covered her mouth, as she realized the trap she had fallen into.

Rachel couldn't help but point, at her, and accuse her of even more things. And suddenly all was coming to light. The deep connection the Demon, and Scout shared, the friendship of Jack and Besany was far more than met the eyes. And it surprised Rachel, that she hadn't picked up on it sooner, and that Halsey hadn't noticed.

"Look," Besany said, putting up her hand, "We're just really close...nothing more, nothing less."

"Why?" Rachel asked.

"Why, what?" Besany asked, looking confused.

"Don't play dumb." Rachel said, "Why are you two so close?" she asked, being more specific.

"There doesn't have to be a reason..." Besany said, "We just...click, I guess." she shrugged, "Like, he actually knows me."

"Do you know him?" Rachel asked, knowing in the back of her head, that Jack was the most secretive, and quietest of the bunch.

"I want to know him..." Besany said, "But ever since Ferris...he doesn't really open up."

"Him and Ferris were close?" Rachel asked, she received a look from Besany that made her feel retarded.

"Ferris and Jack were like brothers!" Besany yelled practically, "Jack killed four ODST officers for making a joke about him. Four!" she said, "He volunteered for the missions none of us wanted to go on. He's got the most field time, of any of us."

"Bess, I just want to make sure you don't get distracted." Rachel said, "I don't want you hurt... Were Spartans, we don't get to be the princess that falls in love. We don't get to live happily ever after.."

"You believe that?" Besany asked, "You believe that's true?"

"Yes, I do." Rachel said, almost in confidence.

"That's funny Rachel," Besany said, pulling her helmet on and walking past her to the Warthog, "We aren't suppose to die either."

"I'm just, I'm just saying..." Tyson said, "ODST chicks are kind of hot." he shrugged.

"Are you kidding me?" Jack said, "ODST chicks...really, yeah they're bad ass. But if I could get with a chick, it'd be a Spartan."

"A null Spartan." Ivan coughed, "I mean what, who said that?" Ivan said, looking around.

"Can it, Sputnik." Jack pointed, hiding a smile.

"What about you Boss?" Tyson asked, popping the seal to his helmet, and taking a deep breathe of the air. Harvest was a frigid place, due to the glassing. But the small patch they were on had some grass, and was nice and spring like.

"Hm?" William grunted, turning his attention to the three male Spartans.

"You know women, what's your preference?" Tyson asked, "Do you like Sangheli, ODST, actual civilian Women, Spartans, what?"

"Civilian women. Definitely." William laughed, "I mean, I wanna start a family, so having a house wife would be my go to idea."

"Valid, valid." Jack pointed, scratching his chin, "I wonder if the girl Spartans talk about this stuff."

Ivan decided to take a shot at William, "Yeah, probably like, oh, I love, the by the book military man." Ivan laughed, followed by Jack, and Tyson.

"Oh, you guys are hilarious," William rolled his eyes, "I wonder if any woman would wanna get with a guy the size of a tree."

Ivan stopped laughing, "Good one, that was good." he pointed, "I deserved that."

It was at this time, that Besany, and Rachel returned to where Ghost Team was. They seemed at odds with each other. But in a way that was almost obscure to their comrades. Rachel just wanted to make sure Besany didn't fill her head with silly fantasies, and stories. But Besany wanted to make sure that Rachel didn't assume all the stories of Spartans were true.

"All right..." William said, "Let's go over the plan one more time." Ghost Team all gathered around to discuss the mission at hand, the severity of the situation was dire, getting these maps wasn't just the ticket for Ghost Team to finishing their mission...it was the ticket for retaking Harvest.

**Planet: Reach. March 30th, 2525, Halsey's Office.**

"I..." Jack went to say, when an unannounced soldier opened Halsey's office door, panting, and out of breathe. Jack, and Halsey stood up instantly.

"Soldier, what is the meaning of this?" Halsey asked, visually upset.

"I'm..s-s-sorry ma'am." he stuttered between gasps of breathe, "We have a situation, Captain Keyes needs to speak with you immediately!" the soldier exhaled.

Halsey nodded, and started to walk out. Jack followed in silence.

"I expect an answer..." Halsey turned to face him, "And I expect it soon." Halsey turned back to the soldier, and left Jack standing outside her office. Nothing but him, his thoughts and...Ivan?

"Hey there comrade." the Russian accented Spartan said, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a sick fuck." Jack said, walking with his friend...his brother, down the halls, "I...I killed them Ivan. I killed them easy. It was simple, a neck snap, a screwdriver to the throat, slam ones skull in the pavement, punch one till I look up and see UNSC soldiers with assault rifles aimed at my face." Jack said, as Ivan stared at him.

"Well, I was there Jack..." Ivan chuckled, "I saw what you did...but I didn't wanna believe it was you." he sighed.

"Why's that?" Jack said, as he and Ivan entered the cafeteria.

"I don't know. I guess knowing how you truly, it was odd seeing you without...I guess restraint." Ivan explained, "But I suppose we'll have to get use to it, considering that's what we'll be doing. Killing things."

"I guess we will..." Jack sighed, as he waited in line for the food to be served, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Besany enter.

"Hey guys." she said, walking up behind Jack, who handed her a plate for food, "What's up?"

"Jack killed some people." Ivan said emotionless, moving down the line anxious for food.

"What?" Besany nearly yelled, although it surprised both Jack and Ivan when she didn't, "What happened?"

"One of the ODST's made fun of Ferris, so, Jack gave them a lesson in why bullying is wrong." Ivan chuckled, as the cafeteria lady slapped a scoop of mashed potatoes on his plate.

Besany stood for awhile in place, her mouth agape, "Is that true Jack?" she whispered to him, as if she no longer wanted Ivan's input.

"Yes..." Jack said, going down the line, receiving mashed potatoes as well.

"Why?" Besany asked, visually hurt.

"You know..." Jack tossed his plate aside, "I'm not really hungry." he said, going to walk out of the cafeteria.

"Jack..." Besany said, following him, "Jack wait." Jack stormed off shaking his head as Besany called for him. "Jack just wait!" she yelled.

"What?" Jack said, not turning around, "What do you want? You wanna tell me everything's gonna be okay? You wanna tell me that it wasn't my fault?"

Besany stared at Jack's back, not walking forward, just standing still, "No...that's not what I was gonna say at all..."

"Then what?" Jack snorted, but he didn't give her time to respond, he stormed into their quarters, wishing his could slam the door.

"Jack, just wait!" Besany ran after him again, running into the quarters, Jack sat on his bunk, Ferris' dog tags dangled in his clenched fist.

"We all miss him." Besany said, taking a seat next to him, "But we'll get through this. It's a block in the road...you can't let it beat you."

"It already has." Jack sighed.

"No, no..." Besany said, impulsively holding his hand, "Don't say that. You're stronger than that...I know you are."

Jack looked at his hand, and then at Besany's smile, "What?" she asked, her face looking into his. Jack had no idea why he felt...warm, or why his heart was racing. There was no threat, and he wasn't in battle. He felt nervous, but excited, scared, but fearless.

"You look really pretty..." the Spartan said to her, staring at his feet quickly.

Besany looked at him, almost in denial, "What?" was all she could say.

Jack scooted closer to her, he had no idea what he was doing, none at all, all he knew was he wanted to be close to this girl...very close.

"Jack..." Besany breathed, as Jack moved close to her face, planting a kiss on her cheek. The warm rush of emotions exploded within the Spartans bodies. They weren't supposed to share this feeling, in any way shape or form...but not all the stories of Spartans were true, now were they?

**Planet: Harvest. November 30th, 2526.**

Jack, Besany, and Tyson all moved slowly through the tunnels within Harvest. The icy climate would be a problem for anybody that wasn't a Spartan. Besany took point, her Sniper Rifle at the ready, silenced sub-machine gun on her thigh, and pistol on her hip. Meanwhile, Jack was close behind with a Battle Rifle aimed down the scope, DMR on his back, and a silenced M6D on his hip. There was no way you could silence Tyson, this guy had a shotgun at the ready, and an MA5B assault rifle on his back.

Jack slowly moved up, but the black cloth around his armor wisped in his face, "Fuck this!" he yelled, ripping it out of his armor, the remnants of it as if it were never there.

"I thought it was kinda cool..." Tyson said, watching the entire thing happen.

"Don't lie." Jack scowled at him from under his helmet.

"Quiet you two..." Besany said, coming to the ridge of the tunnel, "Let's go prone..." Besany dropped down, and Jack followed.

"Switching to thermal view." Tyson said. Jack nodded, and did the same, followed by Besany, who aimed down her sights, ""I count two Sangheli's." Besany said, "A few sleeping Grunts, I think there's four, one Jackal on the ridge."

"I-copy." Jack said, switching weapons to his DMR, and aiming down the scope, "Taking out the Jackal." he said, aiming at the Jackals elongated neck, "Firing." he said, pulling the trigger, the crack of the gun was masked by the incoming Covenant dropship.

"He's down." Jack said, "Heavy get my six, Scout you keep an eye on us, we'll pave the way." Jack said, sliding down the ridge of the tunnel, which was more like a cave.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll keep an eye on you." Tyson pretended to growl.

"Oh shut up." Besany said, keeping her eye on the scope of the sniper rifle.

"Ready?" Jack pulled out his knife, and stared at the two Elites in front of him.

"Cake." Tyson winked under his helmet.

Jack moved up first, slamming his knife deep into the Elites neck, twisting the knife, and then slitting the rest of its throat, flinging him aside. Tyson aimed Jack's silenced M6D at the Elites head, and slammed the butt of it into his head, it let out a barely audible growl, as it's four mandibles opened, Tyson pulled the trigger. Killing him.

"Yipee, ki, yay motherfucker." Besany heard Jack over the COM. "Heavy on me..." Jack said, moving through the snowy terrain. The Covenant Vessel had taken off, and now there was nothing but breaching the compound. Which was easier said than done.

"You've got some sleeping Grunts on you right." Besany said, "Want me to handle it?" she asked, finger on the trigger.

"Negative, Scout...we'll handle this." Jack said.

"What do you say Demon, three for me, one for you?" Tyson asked, withdrawing his knife, in unison with Jack.

"Like hell..." Jack chuckled, retrieving his pistol from Tyson, and sneaking up behind one, snapping his neck like a stick, withdrawing his pistol, he fired a round clean through the Grunts skull, orange blood stained the cotton white snow, but he wasn't finished, not before slamming his knife clean through another ones throat.

"Gee, thanks for saving me one..." Tyson sighed, dispatching the last Grunt.

"You should be grateful he saved you one at all..." Besany chuckled through her COM.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Tyson complained, as he and Jack trudged on. "See anymore Scout?"

"Negative." Besany said, "I'm moving now." she said, sliding down the side of the cave.

"Copy." Jack said, holstering his weapons, and switching to his Battle Rifle. "Were at the far side of the entrance."

"I see you." Besany said, trudging through the snow.

"Get in, get the plans, get out." Tyson repeated to himself.

Besany regrouped with them, and withdrew her silenced sub-machine gun, "Any idea where the schedule will be?"

"It shouldn't be hard to find. Most Sangheli ships have their schedule places, military protocol." Tyson said, as the three trudged through the snow.

"I'm thinking it's gonna be somewhere within the control room." Jack said, "We could just hack the database, and retrieve as much info as possible."

"We should've brought Lady instead..." Besany chuckled, "She can hack anything."

"You know, I may be a heavy gunner...but I've given Lady a run for her money." Tyson chuckled, "I might be able to do it."

"We can all do it...some of us are just better at it..." Besany chuckled, "You happen to be one of the people that is."

"I pride myself in it." Tyson said aloud.

The three members of Ghost Team made their way to the facility, eyes dead set on retrieving the plans of where Vahl Thrun would be located. This was pivotal to taking back Harvest.

"Anybody see an entrance?" Jack asked, taking a knee, and aiming down his scope, "Like a window...or-"

"A vent?" Besany asked.

"That'll do Scout." Jack said, moving to the position of the vent, the lightning quick, gun metal gray Spartan moved to the vent, the cobalt colored Spartan, along with the white colored Spartan behind him. Ironic was it? That Tyson was an African American, and that his armor was white. Possibly.

"Vent will most likely lead to a-"

"I see Spartans!" a Grunt yelled, firing full auto a blast of Needler rounds at them. Bolts of a bright pink hue shot through the sky, and made their way towards them. Jack dove for cover, and Besany pushed Tyson out of the way, rounds that close for a Spartan without shields...even a Spartan...deadly. Jack fired three rounds from the BR, and dropped the grunt, but those shots were loud. "Were in it now..." Jack muttered. "Hurry up and get inside!" Jack yelled, as more grunts stormed them.

"Heavy over here!" Besany said, lifting him up to the vent, "Get in!"

Tyson pulled off the vent covering, and crawled in, the vent was huge, big enough for an elite to get through, which means it was big enough for a Spartan to get to.

"You go next Scout!" Jack yelled, firing his BR, dropping two more grunts.

"Spartans!" an Elite growled, withdrawing to energy swords from his hips, and charging Jack with incredible speed.

Jack fired at the Sangheli warrior, dropping his shields, but he continuously charged, pushing through the grunts, he lunged at Jack.

Jack dropped his gun, and before the Elite had a chance, Jack tackled him to the floor, slamming his fist into the vicious alien, blue blood stained his armor, as he relentlessly beat the Elite.

"Demon hurry!" Besany said, reaching her hand down, "Grab my hand!"

Jack stood up from the now dead Elite, and ran for the vent, firing his DMR with one hand, as he jumped up, grabbing Besany's hand.

Tyson helped by grabbing Jack as well, pulling him up inside the vent. Jack slumped down in the vent, wiping blood from his visor.

"Fucking A." Jack chuckled, but then received a punch to his face. "Ow!"

"Don't you ever do that again!" Besany yelled.

"DO what?" Jack said back.

"Storm an Elite with two energy swords! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Besany yelled, "Yeah were Spartans, but were not Gods!"

Tyson watched the two argue in an awkward silence, "It...it may not mean much...but Jack, I thought it was bad ass..."

"Don't encourage him!" Besany waved her hands in the air.

"Sorry..." Tyson shut up.

After a few more curse words, and other jokes. The three Spartans of Ghost Team finally made it out of the vents and on the inside of the facility. "This is Demon to Boss, Demon to Boss, do you copy over?" Jack spoke through the COM.

"This is Boss, you're good Demon, what's up?" William answered.

"Scout, Heavy, and myself have successfully infiltrated the Covenant base...unfortunately we were identified, by a patrol unit..however, we eliminated the hostiles quickly." Jack explained, as he walked down to the corner of the hall.

"You sure you took them all out?" William asked, sounding upset, and slightly uneasy.

"I believe so...however, if we're discovered within the base, it will be easier to escape." Jack explained, "As blasting a hole in the wall, is much easier then making sure we don't trip any alarms."

William chuckled in the COM, "As much as I agree Demon, try and do the opposite."

"I-Copy." Jack said, "All right Heavy, take point." Jack gestured to Tyson.

"You got it." Tyson said, taking point down the long and dark halls. The Covenant base was large, and intimidating, but also complex. The halls were huge, and had long corridors. But the place these Spartans were looking for was far into the reaches of the Covenant Base.

The Spartans activated their camo, and made their way through the facility, "Eyes up." Jack said, aiming down his scope. Besany emptied her sub-machine gun, into the Jackal guarding the hall. "Move up." Besany pointed.

Tyson moved forward, shotgun loaded, and ready. Jack switched to his silenced M6D, moving to the Control room. Two Sangheli's guarded the room, Needle Rifles loaded, and pointed down.

Jack stared at the Elites, and Besany knew exactly what he was thinking, "Jack..no..." Besany said, "Don't you dare..."

Jack motioned for Tyson to go around, and Tyson nodded, moving to the left side of the Control room. Jack tackled the Sangheli, landing on top of him, and slamming his knife into the throat of the Elite. Tyson went to slice the Elites throat but received a punch to the face, and suddenly the Sangheli was on top of him. "Fuck!" Tyson yelled, pushing the four mandibles of death away from his face.

Besany moved up, firing the rounds of her sub-machine gun into the Elite, who stood up, withdrawing his energy sword. "You die first." the Elite snarled, blue blood was spilling from his wounds. He made a dash for Besany.

Jack ripped his knife out of the Elite, blood soaked his armor as he stood up. "Jack!" Tyson yelled, jack turned to see Besany firing at the charging Elite. Jack fired the rest of his clip through the Elite's back, and skull. The Elite collapsed to the floor in front of Besany, who fired the rest of her clip into his skull, fragments of bone, blood, and skin splattered the floor.

"Nice job Jack..." Besany panted, as she reloaded her sub-machine gun.

"Wouldn't be the first time you saved my ass today!" Tyson chuckled, as Jack walked over to him, helping him up.

Jack, Besany, and Tyson, stormed the room, checking their corners, and making sure there was no sneaking Covenant.

"Okay, Tyson...start the download." Jack said, grabbing the assault rifle from off of Tyson's back. Besany and Jack planted in front of the door.

"Boss, were inside the control room..." Tyson said over the COM.

"Did you start the download?" William asked.

"Just started hacking through the database." Tyson said, using his tactical pad.

"Good luck guys." William said.

"What are you guys gonna do?" Tyson asked, as he started going through the firewalls, noticing that Jack and Besany were plated in cover.

"Hold the line." Jack smirked beneath his helmet.

An alarm blared through the entire base, Elites, Grunts, and Jackals all made a dash for the door. They knew they would have to hold out for awhile, but they weren't afraid...not at all.

**(A/N) Hey guys and gals, thanks so much for the views. I hope you are all enjoying the story! I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Halo is probably the hardest story I've been writing for, and I hope I'm doing it justice, please leave a review letting me know, giving me some feedback, it'd be greatly appreciated. :) Thanks so much you guys. The next update will be much more intense, but this is barely the beginning of the Null Spartans journey.**

**Cheers,**

**DantesClover**


	4. Revelations

**Planet: Harvest, The Control room.**

Bolts of bright blue, and neon green seared passed Null Spartan-004's head, her name was Besany, she fired back with her sub-machine gun, rounds went clean through several grunts.

"Anytime now Heavy..." Besany said, dropping the clip from her gun, and reloading. Jack dropped to his knee and fired full auto at the grunts, and charging Sangheli's.

"Son of a bitch!" Jack yelled, "My shields are down!"

"Cover!" Besany yelled, as Jack reloaded his gun, he tossed a grenade down the hall. The grenade bounced off the wall, and landed right in front of a suicide grunt, "Kill the humans!" the grunt yelled, holding two plasma grenades, the three grenades caused a horrendous explosion. The grenades exploded in unison. Bits of bone, and flesh ripped as the grenades split open the aliens.

"Shields up!" Jack said, firing his assault rifle.

"Come on baby." Tyson said, hacking through more firewalls, retrieving data on Vahl Thrun's locations, and whereabouts. "I got it!"

"Nice!" Besany yelled, as Jack tossed her a DMR.

"Let's go!" Jack yelled, as Tyson withdrew his shotgun, and pumped two rounds down the hall, dispatching two jackals.

"Boss, this is Demon, we got the data, and were headed out-" A Sangheli warrior landed on Jack from the rafters, tackling him. Jack slammed his fist into the Elites mouth, knocking him back, the Elite growled in his face, and jumped off him.

Tyson pumped a round at the Elite, but missed, Besany continued firing as she moved next to Jack, quickly kicking the assault rifle to him. Jack grabbed it, and squeezed the trigger, rounds ripped through the Covenant forces.

"Scout go!" Jack yelled, "Heavy back, back." Jack said, firing as he moved backward.

"Scout to Mech, this is Scout to Mech, do you copy over?" Besany asked, running through the halls, as she slammed her knife into an incoming grunt.

"Ah, comrade Besany." Ivan chuckled, "What can I-"

"No, time Ivan, get your ass over here on the warthog now!" Besany yelled, firing down the hall one handed.

"Demon, come on!" Tyson yelled, as Jack fired moving backwards, as he fired.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Jack said, falling back.

Besany, Jack, and Tyson ran through the compound, finding an exit, the three high tailed it out of the compound, heading towards the cavern.

"Oh fuck..." Jack said, as a good twenty Covenant forces surrounded them, carbines, and plasma rifles aimed at the three of them.

"Any bright ideas?" Besany asked, raising her hands.

"We fight." Tyson said, slamming his fist down, initiating a force-field bubble. Jack, Besany, and Tyson all quickly reloaded, and Jack withdrew a plasma grenade.

"Boss where are you guys?" Jack asked, getting anxious.

"Look up Demon." William chuckled, as a Warthog jumped just above their heads, Ivan firing round after round from the turret. Rachel fired a rocket launcher into the field.

"Woo!" Rachel howled, as William landed, and drifted to the right in a circle, Ivan fired the turret into the Covenant, round after round ejected from the turret. Orange, green, and blue blood splattered the cotton white snow, "Get in!" William yelled, as Jack ran to the back, and sat next to Ivan, firing his assault rifle. The counter on his assault rifle dropped from 32, to 31, and so on and so forth, as each round exited the chamber.

Besany hopped in the passenger next to Rachel, barely able to fit, and Tyson grabbed the side of the warthog. And the seven sped off.

"Damn!" one of the Elite's snarled, his four mandibles expanding in anger as he yelled. The Covenant had been beat for now.

**Back at the Pelican.**

"Woo!" Rachel smirked, "Nice job Bess." she nudged her, "Don't think we could have pulled it off." she gestured to Ivan and William.

"You got that data Tyson?" William asked, as he parked the Warthog next to the Pelican. Jack, Ivan, and Tyson hopped off the Warthog.

"You got it Boss." Tyson said, tossing him a chip, "It's all there." he said confidently, as he removed his helmet, and wiped sweat from his brow.

"I'm gonna check this out inside." William said, "Were gonna have to hide out here for tonight." he explained.

"Got it Boss." Jack said, popping the seal to his helmet, and ruffling his mohawk. "Damn, that was close..." he chuckled.

"You're telling me." Besany smirked, removing her helmet, and tying her hair in a ponytail, "I thought we were gonna have to sacrifice the data."

"Luckily we didn't." Jack laughed.

"How many were there, comrade?" Ivan asked, as he removed his helmet, and scratched his beard.

"At least fifty..." Tyson counted, "Maybe more..."

"Math was never my best subject." Jack laughed, as he walked to the warthog, retrieving some canteens, and tossing some to his teammates.

"How far away were you guys?" Besany asked, taking a drink of the canteen.

"Just over the ridge..." Rachel said, running her fingers through her brown hair, "Not too far." she chuckled.

"Seemed like days, didn't it Demon?" Ivan laughed heartily.

"No, actually, seemed like you just were sitting on your lazy ass the whole time." Jack chuckled to himself.

Ghost Team gathered around, talking amongst themselves and their mission. They felt disconnected to other Spartans, and Spartan-II's. Not in the sense that they were better, but in the sense that others didn't understand them. And the Null Spartans faulted them not for that.

"Ghost Team, in here." William said, motioning for the Spartans to gather around, "So, I've got bad news...and not so good news."

"What's the good news?" Rachel asked sarcastically.

"Har, har." William shook his head, "Vahl Thrun will be in one of three different locations tomorrow. He could be back at command, within the battlefield or this place, which I'm unsure of." William said, pulling up what appeared to be a temple.

"Is that on Harvest?" Besany asked, widening the schematics, and looking at what appeared to be pillars.

"We have reason to believe yes." William said, "But I'm not sure where."

"I know where that is." Ivan said, "Tyson and I passed it when patrolling a few nights ago. I think it's a place of worship."

"Isn't there Prophets stationed on Harvest though?" Jack asked, looking intently at the Temple sized building.

"Intel said that it was possible that prophets would be stationed on Harvest." Rachel said, "But I'm not sure, if they meant, directly on Harvest, or that they _were_ on Harvest."

"Valid." Jack said simply.

"So here's my plan." William said, "We split up in teams of two, Scout and Mech." William pointed, "You two take the compound, considering you three were just there, I doubt he'll show his face."

"Right." Scout nodded, "Me and ol' Sputnik got this." Besany chuckled.

William nodded, and turned to Rachel, and Tyson, "Lady, and Heavy, I want you two to take to the snowy mountains-"

"The whole planet is snow." Tyson waved his hands in the air.

"Lady knows where I'm talking about there's a garrison set up there, if this schedules correct, he makes routine inspections, at random." William said.

"I'll show you where it's at Heavy." Lady said.

"Copy." Tyson nodded.

"Demon, you and I will hit up...well whatever the hell this Temple is." William pointed to the map on his tactical pad.

"All right, sounds good." Jack said, secretly thinking about Besany, but trying to remain focused on the task at hand.

"We'll move out tomorrow morning, so get a good nights rest people." William said, "Dismissed."

Ghost Team took to where the slept. Strangely enough the Nulls mostly slept in the Pelican, and sitting up no less.

The Null Spartans drifted off to sleep, or so each one believed. They all had their own personal issues they coped with, but Jack had demons he faced on a regular basis...maybe that's why he was given said nickname. Maybe, not.

Jack tossed in his seat, unable to fall asleep, nightmares tormented him, as did his very own memories. As much as he remembered, it took every ounce in him to forget.

**Planet: Reach. Year: 2525.**

"Easy, Ferris, I've got you." the fourteen year old Jack said, to Ferris, as he helped him up, "Come on, just stay awake, okay?"

"I'm not falling asleep..." Ferris mumbled, his eyes slowly opening and closing.

Jack laid Ferris down and took a look at his knee, "You dislocated your knee..." Jack sighed, "This is gonna hurt."

"Wait, wait...what are you gonna do?" Ferris asked, as Jack twisted and popped his knee back into place. "Oh! Fuck me!" Ferris yelled, pounding his fist on the forest floor.

This exercise was simple, in theory anyways, survive, it was a survival mission, Jack removed his shirt, and wrapped it around Ferris' arm, putting it in a sling. "How do you feel?" Jack asked, scratching his nose.

Ferris groaned in pain, "Like I got hit by a mongoose."

"Well, not exactly." Jack chuckled, "You fell into a trap, and took a gnarly spill down the mountainside, dislocated your knee, and shoulder." Jack explained.

"Damn." Ferris sighed, "Any...any idea how close we are to base?"

"I don't know...any idea how long we've been out here?" Jack asked.

"Three days..." Ferris estimated, "I don't know man...Do you think, William and Ivan made it?"

"Hope so." Jack said, "Especially Bess..."

"Easy there Demon...you feeling something for Besany?" Ferris laughed slightly. Ferris was the first to call Jack, Demon.

"I dunno man...she's super cool." Jack said, sitting down, his bare back splintering from the tree bark. "She listens too."

"Yeah..." Ferris nodded, as he coughed, "Are we gonna die Jack?"

"No, no..." Jack said, gripping Ferris' hand, "We aren't don't worry."

"I'm not..." Ferris smirked, "I'm not afraid either."

Jack smiled, as Ferris close his eyes, "Don't worry Ferris." Jack said, standing up, "I'll keep you safe...were brothers."

Ferris smiled back, "And brothers look out for each other..."

**Planet: Harvest.**

"Ferris!" Jack yelled, his face sweating, and his heart racing, as he shook himself free of the seat belt, and stood up.

"Jack help..." Ferris whispered as he was hooked up to the machines and tubes.

"I'm coming buddy, I'm coming." Jack said, running to Ferris, "Just stay awake." Jack yelled, running out from the Pelican into the pitch black night.

"Brothers look out for each other..." Ferris whispered.

"I know, I know!" Jack yelled, still running, he heard the voices from the cave, "Ferris! Ferris you in there?"

"Hurry!" Ferris yelled, from inside the cave.

Jack walked into the cave, and noticed someone curled up in a ball, "Ferris!" Jack said with bloodshot eyes, "Oh, god man...I thought I'd never-"

"Die!" the Elite, yelled tackling Jack to the floor, as Grunts and Jackals surrounded him.

"Fuck!" Jack yelled, pushing the Sangheli's mouth away from his unhelmeted, trying to fight him off of him. Jack swung a punch into the Elites face, knocking him back, but with all the grunts around him kicking him. He could barely stand.

"I'll teach you." the Elite snarled, withdrawing his energy sword. Suddenly, gunfire cracked through the caves.

"Suppressing fire, suppressing fire!" William yelled, firing his assault rifle through the cave. Rounds of hot lead pierced the Covenant forces, blue blood splashed across Jack's face.

"Demon get up!" Ivan yelled, firing the DMR rapidly.

Jack laid there motionless, staring as the Covenant dropped one after one, "Jack, you okay, Jack?" Besany said, these were the last words jack heard before blackness covered his mind.

[] [] []

"Hey guys, I think he's waking up." a voice said, Jack's vision was blurry and hazy.

"Wh-wh-what? Happened?" Jack asked, touching his forehead, as a nasty headache ate across the back of his head.

"Why don't you tell us?" William asked.

"I...I saw Ferris..." Jack shook his head, "Saw Ferris, heard Ferris...he was there."

"Jack..." Besany said sympathetically, "Ferris is gone..."

"Oh, no, no, I know." Jack said, nodding rapidly, "I know..."

"Look.." William said, "Let's finish this mission...kill Vahl, and leave this planet. Then Jack...we'll talk."

Jack nodded, "Right."

Ghost Team went back to where they were sleeping previously. "Let's get some sleep." William said, "Tomorrow's a big day."

Tyson slapped Jack on the shoulder, "Sleep well." he said.

Jack shrugged, as he sat back down. But sadly, being alone with his thoughts...was the last place he wanted to be.

**(A/N) Hey guys and gals, thank you so much for the reviews! It makes my day reading them. You all rule so hard! :) This update was kind of short, but the next one will have (hopefully) a lot more content. But spoilers I stray from! Keep reading and reviewing, and keep being awesome!**

**Cheers,**

**DantesClover**


	5. Hyper Lethal Vector

**Planet: Harvest.**

Williams stomach touched the snowy, and ice cold ground. Had he not been in MJOLNIR he would have froze to death, he couldn't comprehend how Jack had his helmet off.

"What's the time?" Jack asked, as he pulled the bolt back from the sniper rifle.

"Early enough." William replied, "How the hell do you have your helmet off, it's gotta be below zero." William asked.

"I snipe better without my helmet..." Jack replied.

"You know your helmet's got a 5x zoom capability, right?" William asked, his eyebrow raised under his helmet.

"I'm aware." Jack replied, "I dunno...I just... I see things better, I guess." Jack shrugged.

"Is it cause of Ferris?" William asked. All of Ghost Team knew that when Ferris died, Jack took it the hardest.

"What?" Jack asked, exasperated, "Come on...what would Ferris' death have to do with me sniping?"

"That bet you guys made..." William said, "Who could shoot the apple off of Ferris' head, didn't you do it?"

"Yeah, so what?" Jack retorted, as he grabbed the magazine, and loaded rounds into the clip.

"Wasn't part of the bet to do it without a helmet?" William reminded.

"Shut up." Jack said, as he placed the magazine into the sniper rifle.

Jack, and Williams helmets filled with static as one of their teammates spoke over com. "This is Lady to Boss, do you copy?"

"This is Boss, I-copy." William replied, "What's up?" he asked.

"Heavy and I have made it to the small garrison, there's little to no forces up here," Rachel said, "In fact neither Heavy, nor I have seen any Sangheli's."

"Just keep your eyes peeled, you never know if their in active camo, or some other bullshit." William encouraged, "It'll make it easier to spot Vahl."

"Not here..." Besany chimed in over the com, "This place is crawling with Covenant. But there's no sign of Vahl."

"There's not many Sangheli's with eye patches." Jack chuckled, "So the first one you see should be him." Jack's voice trailed off.

"Demon's got a point." William said, "Keep an eye out for eye patches."

"That's not the only way Vahl looks like..." Tyson retorted, "He's the tallest Elite I've ever seen."

"Right." William said, knowing full well of Vahl Thrun's appearance. "Just keep quiet, stay low, and keep looking."

"Copy." all the members of Ghost Team replied.

Jack cracked his knuckles as he waited. They had no, guarantee that he'd be here, none at all. But Jack and William both had a good feeling about this one. William lied prone next to Jack, his eyes peering through the binoculars, locked on target and focused on anything that moved.

"What do you think he'll show up in?" William asked a quiet Jack.

"Dunno, could be a Wraith, Revenant, not sure. But he'll have friends, I know that." Jack said, adjusting the sights to the sniper rifle so that they were perfect.

"Well, we'll just have to remain focused." William said, as he kept a steady eye on the howling and snowy wind.

Over the banks, and many miles away, Besany, and Ivan sat inside the cavern across from the Covenant base. "You think Vahl will show his face here?" Ivan asked.

"I doubt it." Besany replied, "It seems idiotic."

"I hate the cold." Ivan replied, "I also hate waiting in the cold for something that's not gonna happen..." Ivan sighed.

"Quite your bitching." Besany chuckled, as she crumpled snow between her hands.

Ivan and Besany sat staring out of the small cave, sniper planted at the ready. The idea of being planted at the designated positions, they were already two steps ahead of Vahl.

About two miles away from the Pelican, Tyson and Rachel laid on the mountainside, another sniper rifle set up. Their plan was near perfect, but not all plans went according to plan.

"Eyes up!" William snapped as he noticed three ghosts, a Wraith, and two Revenants appeared down below.

"Any sign of Vahl?" Jack asked, sliding the bolt of the sniper rifle down, the round loading into the chamber, ready to fire.

"Not yet." William said, searching through his binoculars, "I have a positive I.D on Vahl Thrun." William said, watching as Vahl exited the Wraith. He was huge. The guy was at least two heads taller than a normal Sangheili's, he was in the highest ranking armor of Zealot armor, it was adorned with a glorious head piece, and golden shoulder paldrons. The eye-patch graced his left eye, just as the picture depicted.

"Lady, Mech, Heavy, and Scout, make your way back to the pelican, were gonna need pick up." William said, "Double time it."

Ghost Team acknowledged this, and started to pack up, whereas Jack took steady and calculated aim, breathing in and out rapidly.

"Easy Demon, make sure you have a perfect shot." William said, staring at Vahl through the binoculars. Jack's lips were almost blue from the frigid cold, his pale skin was frigid, but he refused to put on his helmet.

"Okay, Jack, winds dying down..." William said, as the breeze ceased, and everything became calm, "On my mark..." William said.

Jack licked his lips, and flipped the safety off, "Three..." William said, continuing down, "Two...one...' William nodded, "Execute."

Before William had finished speaking, Jack had pulled the trigger, the round exited the chamber, the speed was phenomenal. And just as the emptied round hit the soft and icy snow. So did Vahl's body hit the floor. Vahl's skull exploded with such ferocity, there was a hole the size of an apple through his brain. Purple blood spilled from the giant hole. The sight was glorious, the cotton white snow stained with purple blood, the panic of the grunts, jackals, and other Sangheili's. Mission complete.

"Nice shot." William smiled beneath his helmet, "Let's pack up and go."

Jack nodded, pulling on his helmet, "Feels good to be back in here." he chuckled. Suddenly there was a crumbling sound, and the piece of terrain that Jack and William were laying on started to break, and give way.

"Jack!" William yelled, as he started to fall. Jack dove with his hand outstretched grabbing Williams forearm. "Pull me up!"

"Ah!" Jack yelled, as he pulled William back on top of land, "Shit, were blown." Jack said, slapping the outstretched piece of his assault rifle, loading the rounds. The count was 32.

"Fuck me." William spat, loading his DMR, "Mech I need you to hurry up, and get over here!" William yelled, firing rounds through his DMR, popping several grunts through the skull.

Jack stood up, and fired full auto down the hillside, raining bullets into the jackals and grunts. The snow started to stain with neon colors of green, blue, purple, and orange.

"William fall back!" Jack yelled, throwing a grenade downhill, and moving backwards, firing his assault rifle.

"I'll be there shortly!" Ivan yelled, as him and the rest of Ghost Team hauled ass back to the pelican.

Jack and William quickly realized that behind them was a drop that they could easily survive, but their organs wouldn't.

"Last stand?" Jack chuckled, emptying the rest of his round into the Covenant, soon they got smart, taking cover, and waiting.

There was a hush of silence, as all fire ceased, and William and Jack were panting, "Shit..." Jack panted, reloading.

"How many magazines do you got left?" William asked, as Jack handed him one for his DMR, and William reloaded.

"That was my last one." Jack sighed, as he cocked his assault rifle back, "I got four more magazines for my sidearm, we can split it."

"If we survive." William shook his head.

It was amazing the two of them had survived that skirmish. Jack, and William had there backs to the edge of the cliff, about a 15 story drop into God knows where. In front of them was a very large boulder, strong enough, and barely high enough, for them to plant into cover. About eight to ten feet away was the Covenant forces. They were lucky for that tight squeeze. The mountainside crushed together at the exit point, meaning that either two grunts could get through it. Or one Elite. However, they got smart and just climbed the damn thing...either way, it was not good.

"Elites!" Jack yelled, sticking his right arm over the boulder, and firing blindly. "Grenade!" Jack yelled again, tossing his last one into the group of Covenant.

The grenade exploded, buying them some time. William stood up really quick, and fired six rounds, each head shots. He dropped to Elites shields, and dispatched four more, two jackals and two grunts.

"Goddammit Ivan!" William yelled, "Where are you?"

"You have no patience comrade!" Ivan chuckled, "Get ready to jump."

"Are you nuts?" William yelled, as a plasma grenade landed next to him. William dove to the left as the small blue ball exploded. Jack moved left, and helped him up.

"Don't give up on me now!" Jack said, firing his assault rifle, and suddenly, he heard the click, of his empty magazine. "Fuck..." he snarled, blocking the charging Elite, and struck his fist into the Covenants face. Jack used his empty assault rifle as a weapon, and slammed it down hard on the Elites skull. William was back up firing every round from his DMR as he could, "I'm out!" he yelled, grabbing the barrel, and slamming the stock into a charging jackals face. Jack and William both pulled out their sidearms, firing into the horde of Covenant this truly looked like the end.

"Did someone call for a Pelican?" Tyson howled as the landing pad opened up, revealing Tyson with a detached turret. Tyson fired the turret into the Covenant. Bullets riddled them with such ferocity that the Covenant fell back. Colors of orange, blue, and green splattered everywhere as the bullets pierced them.

"Boss go!" Jack yelled, as he dropped two more grunts with his pistol.

William turned and dove for the inside of the pelican, landing inside, "Come on Demon!" William yelled.

Two grunts broke through wielding fuel rod guns, and fired at the pelican. "Jack you need to hurry!" Ivan yelled.

Green bolts surged past the pelican, as Ivan dodged them, "That was luck, and that only happens once!" Ivan yelled.

Jack fired his last bullet, and ran to the edge of the cliff, jumping. His feet barely left the ground when a surge of green exploded behind his heels, throwing his jump off. Jack was a few inches short.

"Jack!" William yelled, diving for his hand, Jack gripped his forearm, dangling beneath the abyss. "Don't let go!" William struggled.

"That's the last thing on my mind!" Jack yelled, as he took a few plasma bolts to the chest, "Gah!" he yelled in pain, "I'm taking some damage down here."

"Ivan, go!" Tyson yelled, tossing the turret, and helping to pull Jack up. Jack entered the pelican, and slammed the doors shut, as Ivan blasted off.

The Covenant stood on the edge of the cliff, firing at the pelican. The Spartans howled as they exited the planet of Harvest, the mission complete, and no causalities. Just as Spartans were to handle situations. Jack removed his helmet, and wiped sweat from his brow.

As did the rest of Ghost Team. "That..." William said, taking a drink from his canteen, "Was close..."

"You're telling me." Jack said, grabbing his own canteen, and drinking some water. "Let's get out of here."

Ghost Team exited the planet of Harvests atmosphere, and made their way back to Reach. They would be debriefed, and given a new mission. Or, if Halsey was up for it, she'd probably give them some down time. They would find out.

**Planet: Reach, two days after Ghost Team successfully assassinated Vahl Thrun.**

Halsey sat at her office desk, looking through files, and reading over some documents. She was always working, she heard a knock at her door, that startled her, "Come in." she said, brushing the hair from her face.

The UNSC soldier stepped in, "Ma'am, Ghost Team has just docked, would you like them to report to you first hand?"

"Yes, have them see me right away." Halsey ordered, standing up, "Everyone accounted for?" she asked, somewhat nervous.

"I hope so." the soldier replied, leaving her office.

"I hate docking." Besany sighed, "It's always the slowest part of a successful mission."

"They make us work for it." William chuckled, as he looked out the pelican window, "Halsey will probably want us to report in."

"You, don't say?" Jack replied sarcastically, as he scratched his chin. Jack stood up, and walked next to Besany, a little too close than normal.

"That was a nice shot by the way Jack." William said, "Clean, perfect. All around excellent job, you might even give Scout a run for her money."

"Shut up." Besany scowled at William. The Pelican finally docked, and with a few more stops. Ghost Team was finally able to exit.

William was first to exit, followed by Jack, Besany, Tyson, Ivan, and then Rachel. They all exited the pelican. Greeted by some friendly soldiers, and some ODST. Who, although Jack had bad run ins with the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, had great respect for.

Suddenly, Ghost Team was greeted by a UNSC soldier, panting he stood in front of them, "Spartans..." he gasped, and saluted quickly, "Private Joseph Anderton reporting in!"

"At ease..." Jack chuckled to himself. He found it funny that UNSC soldiers deemed them higher in rank. When, in reality, they were probably the same rank as the next guy. "Dr. Halsey would like to see you, in her office." he panted.

"You okay?" Besany asked, noticing him gasp for breathe. The soldier was much shorter than the Spartans, standing at barely 6'0. he was looking up to them, in more ways than one.

"I'm fan ma'am." Anderton said, "I've been assigned to escort you to Halsey's office."

"Escort?" Tyson asked.

"Yes." Anderton replied, "She didn't want you heading to anywhere else."

"Ah." Jack said, "Understood."

Ghost Team walked through the halls of the black ops layers of Reach. Although the Null Spartans were mixed in with the rest of the Spartan-II's, there was something different about the six of them, and the Spartans noticed it.

The Team walked in silence as they made it to Halsey's office. "Ah, Ghost team, come in." Halsey said, standing up, "How are you?"

Jack hated when she asked them that. "We're good ma'am." William replied, "You wanted to speak with us?"

"Yes," Halsey said, "How was the mission, I trust your assassination went right on par?"

"Yes." Rachel spoke up, "We took out Vahl no problem."

"Confirmed KIA?" Halsey asked, not doubting them but wanting to make sure that they were confident in their abilities.

"Yes, ma'am." William answered, "Jack fired the shot."

"Jack..." Halsey said, staring at Null Spartan 007. "You fired the sniper?" she asked, looking at him. He hated that she could see within him. Her eyes saw his heart.

"Yes ma'am." Jack said, "He was dispatched quickly, and quietly, aside from the sudden quake, and close escape. It was a walk in the park."

"And when you freaked out the night before." Tyson chuckled, but quickly realized he shouldn't have said anything.

"What was that Tyson?" Halsey asked, immediately inquisitive.

"Oh..." Tyson stuttered, "Nothing ma'am...I..."

"You said something about Jack freaking out, correct?" Halsey asked, "What happened?"

Anderton stood off to the side, awkward, and alone.

"Pvt. Anderton you're dismissed." Halsey said, not even acknowledging him as he left the office. "What happened?"

Jack clenched his jaw in and out, nervous. What if that small mishap, meant that he couldn't be a soldier? What if they'd put him down...no, they wouldn't...would they?

"Jack..." Besany cleared her throat, "Thought he saw an enemy, it was dark, and cold. He heard some noises outside. He reacted, by going to check it out. He had broken his helmet that day, and it had been replaced with a spare, but he grabbed the broken one on accident." Besany explained, "He was ambushed by a Sangheili and a ton of grunts. We heard the ruckus, and quickly dispatched them. Jack blacked out after that."

Ghost Team sat in silence, that's not exactly what happened...but it was close enough.

"Is that what happened Jack?" Halsey asked, staring at Jack in the eyes, "Look at me." she said, and Jack looked up, "Is that what happened?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jack said, "I was taken off guard. But the protection of my team was more important than my well being at the time." Jack said simply.

"Very well." Halsey said, turning around, "Well, that's it Ghost Team, you are dismissed." Ghost Team saluted, and all at once turned to leave. "Except for you Jack, I'd like to speak with you." Halsey said.

"Hey, it's not like last time." Ivan chuckled, patting Jack on the shoulder.

"We're headed to the cafeteria." Tyson chuckled, when William chimed in, "But we'll be in the quarters later." William said, "See you in a few." Jack nodded, and smiled at Besany, who smiled back. The door closed, and Halsey sat down.

"Have a seat." Halsey said.

"I think I'll stand..." Jack replied, remaining standing up. His face was fatigued, he looked tired, and that gash from Harvest had left a nasty scar on his brow. But it was a scar he wore proudly.

"Very well." Halsey said, "Null Spartan 007, sit down." she ordered.

Jack nodded, and sat down in front of her, stiff, and unrelaxed. "I have an assignment for you, if you're up for it."

"What kind of assignment?" Jack asked, "An assignment for Ghost Team, or just myself?"

"Just you." Halsey said, staring at him, "You'll have one year to prepare."

"A full year?" Jack asked, sounding more and more interested.

"It involves a special ops mission with the ODST." Halsey said, keeping her eyes trained on his face. His reactions told her everything, he was perfect for the job.

"Ma'am, you know my history with the ODST isn't exactly, best friend material..." Jack said, his voice trailed off.

"Which is why this will be a good time to make amends." Halsey said, "You will be sent in a squad of four. Not including you." Halsey explained, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it," Halsey said, staring at him, "Is to assassinate, or capture a Sangheili they call Ghez Volzon."

"What's his crime?" Jack asked, wondering why they were tasked so often, with affairs of Elites.

"He is an extremely lethal mercenary, and bounty hunter. He has taken out several of our officers already. But our sources say he's punched a hole in the Covenant forces as well. He's a variable." Halsey said, "A loose canon like him..well, that's something we don't want."

Jack agreed, somewhat, but nevertheless, agreed.

"You won't ship out until somewhere later next year, 2527." Halsey said, "This mission, I want you too look into it Spartan. If you can handle this task, I might have other work for you."

"Ma'am...why me?" Jack asked.

Halsey stood up, and stared out her office window. Her office overlooked the cafeteria. She stared down at the rest of Ghost Team. "When I designed you seven, I had one idea in mind, to succeed, and I did." Halsey said, her arms behind her back. She had a motherly appearance, but even still she looked quite young. "You, however, you surprised me. William I thought would be the leader."

"He is." Jack spoke up quickly, "I just follow orders."

"But how often is it you truly giving the orders Jack?" Halsey asked, turning around swiftly, "You are relentless, your kill count is highest in the UNSC,. Your skill makes other Spartans jealous, and you can turn from assassin to one man tank in no time. I've only described one Spartan with your skill as a hyper lethal vector. But you fit the bill just as much as he does."

"Aren't all Spartans supposed to be that." Jack responded, he didn't believe he was special, but then again, neither did John-117.

"Yes, you're right Jack...but you have something they don't..." Halsey smiled.

"What's that?" Jack asked, as if the mystery about him was obscure even to his own self. He wished it wasn't.

"You have to figure that out on your own." Halsey said, sitting back down, "Remember Jack, you have awhile to take up my offer."

Jack nodded, and stood up.

"You're dismissed." she said, as she gestured to the door.

Jack walked to the door, his back facing Halsey, but before he exited, he stopped. The door was open, he didn't even look back, but Halsey was surprised at what she heard, "And ma'am..." Jack said, "I was the one that swung first."

Halsey's mouth stood agape, as Jack left her office. He had answered correctly, and she knew she had chosen perfectly.

Jack entered the cafeteria, his helmet underneath his arm as he walked, "Hey guys." Jack said sitting down.

"Boy this is familiar." Rachel chuckled, "Except this time you're not coming back from the hospital." Rachel laughed.

"I know, you get injured too much Jack." Tyson said, taking a bite of his mashed potatoes, "You gotta just chill."

Jack smirked, as he wiped his forehead.

"What'd Halsey want?" Besany, asked, curious as to what Halsey had said to him.

"An assignment for me." Jack said, "Something about going with the ODST's on a mission early next year."

"You gonna take it?" William asked, "I mean you're an excellent shot, you work good on your own, and with a team."

"Yeah." Jack said, "I dunno...I might." Jack thought hard about what he did, he killed like it was nothing, he didn't know if it was cause he was good at it, or if it was because he liked it. Maybe it was both...

"Well, I'm headed back to the quarters." Jack said, "I'm beat."

"Same here." Besany yawned, Rachel stared at her in an odd way, almost like she was reading Besany's thoughts.

"Up for cards?" Ivan asked Jack, tossing him the deck.

"I'll play you a few rounds, but you know me and luck?" Jack smirked, "I almost always win."

Ghost Team made it back to their quarters, and had some laughs. The six of them were like family. But even family didn't love each other as much as they did. No, they were something else altogether. They were a team.

**January 25th, 2527. Planet: Reach.**

Jack sat awake on the roof tops of the facility of Reach, he was now sixteen standard years old. As was the rest of Ghost Team, though they all looked no older than twenty-one. Save for Ivan, he looked in his twenty-five's. Jack tossed a few rocks down the rooftop. He had a lot to think about, he was going away, leaving his team for god knows how long. It wasn't that he had no choice, he had a choice. But he wished he didn't want to go as much as he did. He had a conflicting spirit. He wanted to go, and be on his own, lead his own squad, but he didn't wanna leave his Team.

Oddly enough, Ghost Team had encouraged Jack to take the mission. They knew he was perfect for the job. Besany especially was supportive, but she was also scared...scared that the worst could happen. They were soldiers, Spartans, not gods. She always reminded herself of that.

"Jack?" Besany's voice echoed through Jack's eardrums. Her voice made his heart skip, he hated that feeling.

"Oh," he said, clearing his throat, "Hey, Bess."

"What are you doing up there?" Besany asked, climbing up to the roof, and crawling to sit next to him. The stars were many this night, and the view of UNSC ships, was quite the sight to behold.

"I'm just thinking." Jack replied, staring at the stars, "You ever wonder what the Covenant think about us?" Jack asked, "Like, if they believe they're fighting for the right things?"

"I guess." Besany said, as she stared at Jack. His face was matured, and although he barely passed regulations, with his hair cut into a mohawk, and the tattoo he so rebelliously placed on his neck. Besany found those marks attractive. "So when do you ship out?" Besany asked, somewhat saddened.

"Next week." Jack replied, "Try not to miss me." he winked at her.

"Yeah, right." Besany shoved him, "I'll finally have someone that stops staring at my ass." Besany chuckled.

Jack raised an eyebrow, "I don't think that our helmets have eyes in the back of their heads, do they?"

"I can feel you looking..." Besany laughed, "You can't ever keep your eyes off me."

"What?" Jack said, almost turning red, "That's preposterous." he chuckled. The two laughed at themselves, before Jack turned serious.

"Bess?" he asked.

"Hm?" Besany replied, looking at the stars, her hair, had been tied in a ponytail, and she was laying on her back looking up at the sky.

"I'm gonna miss you..." Jack said, "A lot." Jack took her hand in his, his calloused hands touched her soft ones. Jack was notorious for training, he never stopped training. So unlike most Spartans, Jack had much tougher, skin. Most Spartans sported pale and soft smooth skin. Jack was the same, aside from parts of his body, such as his hands. He would punch, and punch until his knuckles bled, and then he would keep punching, he would do pull ups until his blisters ripped, and then he would do more. He never quit...ever.

Besany smiled, and her heart quickened, "I'm gonna miss you too, and you're jokes." Besany chuckled, as she sat up.

Jack was working up the courage, the courage to tell her how he felt, and how he knew Spartans had this drilled out of them and they weren't supposed to feel this way...but how he couldn't fight this feeling...whatever it was.

"Don't..." Jack said, as he leaned close to her face, "Just don't move..." he whispered, "I wanna try something." he smiled. Besany smiled back.

Jack's warm breathe touched her lips, as he moved closer to her face. Besany closed her eyes, as did Jack, and before he knew it, their lips were locked in an embrace. The kiss lasted far longer than it should have. But neither of them minded.

Jack finally broke the kiss, and blinked a few times, "Wow." Besany said, smacking her lips, "That was..."

"Amazing..." Jack finished her sentence.

"Yeah, yeah it was..." Besany said.

"Hey!" a security UNSC guard yelled, shining a light on them, "What are you doing up there?" he yelled.

"It's okay!" Jack waved, "We're Spartans." Jack chuckled.

"Oh..." the security guard cleared his throat, "My apologies, but sir, I am to remind you, curfew is in five minutes."

"Thank you soldier." Jack waved, "We'll be in shortly."

The security guard nodded, and went back to his patrol. As if nothing had happened. That's how it was almost anywhere a Spartan went, once they knew you were a Spartan, well, Jack wasn't sure if it was fear, or respect as to why they didn't ask questions. But he sort of enjoyed it.

"We should go inside." Jack said, sliding down the roof, and landing on his feet, "Come on." he waved, as Besany slid down the roof, doing a front flip, and landing on her feet a few inches ahead of Jack. "Show off..." Jack huffed.

"Well, somebodies gotta beat you in something." Besany chuckled, bumping herself into him.

"Are you kidding?" Jack chuckled, "William beats me at armor inspections all the time!" Jack whined, as the two walked back to their quarters. There would be much to discuss in the days ahead, with Ghost Team being sent on a recovery mission, and Jack being sent on a black ops mission. Both were extremely dangerous. Both would involve preparations, and a key source of various other planning. The days would be long, and the nights even longer, with no contact, and with nothing but the hope of a mission accomplished, it would seem endless. But Besany and Jack were glad they had each other. It gave them both a reason to come back...

**(A/N) Hey guys, and gals! Thank you so much for these reviews! You peoples rule so hard! I had a great load of fun writing this chapter, and am enjoying writing this story. Please review, and let me know what you think. I'm trying extremely hard to shy away from cliche's, and what not. But also trying to make it familiar. The next update will be super intense, I can promise that. With Jack and Besany being apart, both will go through hardships, and struggles. Stay tuned! :) **

**I know you're still reading this...so how's about you go ahead and review? Please? ;) **

**Cheers,**

**DantesClover**

**PS: I love you all. 3 Your reviews make my day! And so does the hits! :)**

**PSS: I'd like to give a shoutout to LadyDynamite312, for mentioning me in her story. Definitely give her story a read peoples! It's titled Halo: Hyper Lethal Vectors. (Coincidence that Jack happens to be one of these they call Hyper Lethal Vectors? No he's not in her story. But still read it, it's fucking amazing!)**


	6. A proposition

**October 27th, 2527. Planet: Somewhere above Arcadia.**

As many times as he had done it...stepping into the drop pods always seemed like a new experience to ODST 'Ted', Theodore Smith. And this time they had a Spartan-II accompanying them, not just any Spartan-II...a Null Spartan.

Jack loaded each 14.5 mm into the magazine of his sniper rifle. Each round slid in with ease, Jack continued till he counted four. He looked up, and quickly noticed...that there were four ODST's around him. A feeling he did not like...

"Can I help you four with something?" Jack asked, as he placed the magazine into the chamber, and loaded it. Quickly picking up another magazine...he did the same thing.

The ODST's were staring at Jack's armor...because it was...well, odd. Jack's left shoulder paldron sported the large seven. There was an ace of spades on it as well, the seven was carved inside. The thing that stuck out the most, was the thick white lines spread throughout Jack's armor, giving the armor a spider look. His helmet was another thing, he canceled the skull on his helmet, and now sported a Wolf scratched into it. He definitely stood out. The JFO helmet was nice, and it fit Jack, but the color was strange. It was just pure black, Jack's armor was a gun metal gray. But shaded a bit darker. Still, it caused them to stare.

"They brief you on our mission?" Ted asked, the ODST was the tallest of the bunch, and also the squad leader, not anymore.

"No, they just invited me in for tea and scones." Jack replied. It was uncommon for Spartans to reply with sarcasm...but Jack was a Null. "Yes, they did." Jack said, "Kill, or Capture a Sangheili elite, known as Ghez Volzon."

"Were gonna kill him." Ted said quickly, "Sangheili's like him need to be put down like the dogs they are." Ted snarled.

Jack grabbed the magazine to his assault rifle, loading rounds into the empty magazines, "You don't make that call Ted." Jack said.

Ted looked at him with burning eyes, "Very well." he grit his teeth.

"What are your names?" Jack asked, loading the magazine into his assault rifle and grabbed a few more magazines.

"Theodore Smith." Ted said, reaching out his hand, "But they call me Ted." the ODST soldier said, as Jack shook his hand.

Another ODST stepped up, the figure the soldier had was different, and Jack could tell it was female, "Name's Ellen Forge." she said, shaking Jack's hand.

Then next ODST stepped up, "Rodney Lee." the soldier said, as he shook Jack's hand. "Everyone calls me Lee." Jack's face, which had matured in the last year, was hardened, and scarred. But...it had a strange youthful look.

The last ODST shook his hand, "Joseph Anderson." the last one said, and Jack knew exactly who it was.

"Anders?" Jack said, looking at the soldier, "You didn't tell me you were signing up for ODST training?" he laughed, "How have you been?"

"Been good, sir." Anders smiled, "It's good to see you again." he said.

"And you as well." Jack smiled.

"Soldiers." a voice said from the room, a bright TV screen lit up. The lowest level of the UNSC ship held several monitors and other communication tools. "Good to see you've all met." Dr. Halsey's voice said.

Jack turned to her immediately, watching to the screen as Halsey spoke. He liked his ODST's, they were a good fit. Even if Ted was a bit hot tempered.

"Before you start, I figured providing you with another quick briefing couldn't hurt." Halsey said, "First off, Ghez...he's a strong Sangheili, but he's not aligned with the Covenant, not in any way. He leads he's a loose canon, all on his own."

"So, then bringing him in should be easy?" Ted said, folding his arms over his chest, "I mean if he doesn't have henchmen, then that means we can stop him easily."

"That's the problem..." Halsey sighed, "Seems two mercenary factions are out for his bounty. The first is a human mercenary faction. They call themselves, 'The Mayhem Men.' the second group is an all alien group called, 'The Blue Bounty.' Both of these factions are incredibly dangerous."

"How lethal?" Jack asked, scratching his ear.

"Not by much, especially for trained soldiers like ODST, and...well, a Null Spartan." Halsey smiled slightly.

"Got it." Jack said, "is that all?" he asked Halsey, "Any other requirements?" Jack knew that Arcadia was almost remote. But he also knew that Mayhem Men, and Blue Bounty excelled in hunting people...or in this case, Covenant.

"That's all." Halsey said, "Good luck Jack. And fight well, ODST." Halsey saluted, "Take him out, or bring him in."

Jack and the other ODST members saluted, "Yes, ma'am." they said in unison. And with that the monitor shut off.

"Okay squad, let's get ready to drop." Jack said, walking over to the pod, "You all ready?" he asked, as he strapped himself into the small pod. Seat belts, and flashing buttons were inside the drop pod.

"Sir!" the ODST yelled.

"Launching in three, two...one!" Jack heard the pod hiss, and then a loud boom as the pod launched toward the planet. Ready to proceed with the mission.

**[] [] []**

Arcadia was quiet. The lands were very modernized. But uninhabited, unlike Harvest, where everything was snowy. Arcadia was somewhat grassy, it reminded Jack of Reach.

Jack, Ted, Anders, Lee, and Ellen all landed successfully, although the grouping of them was far apart. But close enough to see each other.

Jack kicked out the door of his pod, and ripped the belts off his chest, landing on the dirt floor. "Everybody, okay?" Jack asked, as he checked the comm links they had set up. All helmets would need to be functional.

"Copy." Ellen said.

"Copy." Lee replied.

"Copy..." Anders grunted.

"Copy." Ted struggled to remove the belts.

Jack walked over to Ellen, and threw off the door, and tossed it aside. Walking over to everyone's pod, he did the same thing.

Jack knelt down, "Looks like were not the only one's here." he said, noticing the tracks in the dirt. "Looks like Jackal footprints." he said, staring at the print.

Ellen, Anders, Ted, and Lee all readied their weapons. Making sure they had ammo, and equipped assault rifles.

Jack knew exactly how the mission was to go about. Get in, kidnap or kill the Sangheili called Ghez Volzon. Simple, or so he thought.

"Let's move." Jack said, standing up, "Ted, take point." he ordered. Readying his DMR he walked closely behind the ODST.

"Yes, sir!" Ted said. He hustled ahead, and kept his assault rifle in hand, ready to fire, and loaded with 32 rounds.

"So Demon..." Lee said, walking a few paces behind Ted, "Whatever happened to those ODST you got in a fight with?"

Jack grit his teeth, "Nothing that concerns you." Jack said quickly. He regretted taking the life of those soldiers. But...no, there was no buts, he had killed them. And he knew it.

Anders stood quiet, as Lee continued to ask questions, "Oh, but it's okay. I mean they're just on the same side as you right?"

"Shut up Lee!" Ted yelled, "I'm sure it was a mutual thing." Ted defended him. It's not that he trusted Jack, it's just that he didn't like when people assumed all Spartans were killing machines.

"Let him speak." Jack said, "You think I killed them just for the hell of it?" he asked Lee, who was surprised that he engaged him.

"I don't think you-"

"That's right." Jack cut him off, "You didn't think. Next time you wanna come to me with complaints or beef, think about who you're presenting it too. Got it?"

Lee swallowed, his face pale beneath his helmet, "Yes, sir." he coughed, continuing to walk behind Ellen, and Anders, who were also quiet.

Jack stopped speaking, and refused to move, immediately dropping to his knee, "Down." he nearly whispered.

The ODST dropped to their knees as well, circling up, and checking their corners, and searching for enemies, "What do you see, sir?" Ellen asked, aiming down the scope of her BR.

"I have visual on two tangos ahead." Jack said, staring down the scope of his DMR.

There was a dirt trail to what appeared like a man made facility ahead. Two large metal doors appeared, and that was the entrance to the facility. There were several soldiers out front, keeping watch over the front of the doors.

They wore simple paramilitary uniforms, sporting regular assault rifles, and low grade firearms. They were clearly stolen.

"Get ready to move on my mark." Jack ordered, placing his finger on the trigger, "On my signal, haul ass to the entrance, I'll be right behind you."

The ODST nodded, and prepared to move. "Three..." Jack's voice filled their comm, "Two..." he continued to count down. Before he even said one, his bullet exited the chamber, speeding towards the skull of it's target.

The bullet pierced clean through the soldiers helmet, his head bursting in a fray of blood and bone. The ODST soldiers bolted for the doors. Jack fired the next round, dropping the second soldier on the roof, and was already moving.

"Hey, we've got intruders!" one of the mercenaries yelled as he watched a dead body flop down on the inside of the facility.

Jack was already on the heals of Lee, running up, and in front of Ted who was in the front, "Weapons ready!" he yelled, slapping explosives on the gate like doors. Jack detonated the explosives, and the doors exploded in.

Lee, Anders, Ellen, and Ted watched as Jack took on a hail of bullets, still alive those shields, and that armor was ridiculous.

"Hold you're fire!" one of the mercenaries yelled, presumably their leader. "My, my, my...a Spartan." he said stepping out from the shadows.

The inside of the facility looked like a science lab, it looked like there were experiments, and other weird blueprints.

Jack leveled his gun, not aiming, but not keeping his guard down. "Who are you?" he asked, "Identify yourself!"

"The name is Duncan." he said, pressing his fingers together, "And you must be...?" Duncan asked. The man was older, and strangely, sported what looked like a priests garments. He was bald, and his left eye was whitened. It appeared that he had gone blind in said eye. But who knows.

Ellen, Anders, Lee, and Ted were close behind Jack, waiting behind him. "Jack..." Ted said, "What are we gonna do?"

"I'm thinking." Jack whispered, but this conversation was inaudible to Duncan and his men. The Mayhem Men were surrounding the five of them. Weapons aimed at them, ground level, higher up, and even from behind Duncan.

"Were looking for a Sangheili." Jack said, "His name is Ghez Volzon." Jack said, "We received intel, that said he was hiding out here on Arcadia. Do you know anything about that?"

Duncan raised an eyebrow, "Stand down men!" he ordered, "So..." Duncan smiled a toothy grin, "You seek the blood of The Avenger as well?" Duncan asked.

"The Avenger?" Anders asked aloud, "Is that Ghez?" Anders asked, Jack, who continued to stare at Duncan, his facial expression unknown due to his helmet.

"Why certainly you've heard of him." Duncan said, "He seeks to wipe me and my men out!" he yelled, "But we'll get him first."

"You know where he is?" Jack stated more than asked him. It was something about his grin that made Jack...uneasy.

"Well, of course!" Duncan laughed heartily, "He's blocked in one of the rooms. But unfortunately it's a three way war." Duncan explained, "You see the Blue Bounty has surrounded him as well. But for every inch closer we get, it's another man down. And another kill for Ghez."

Jack nodded, "Well, why not team up with this...Avenger?" Jack asked, crossing his arms, "It might even the playing field."

"Ha!" Duncan laughed, "Team up with that Brute Wurm?" he mocked, "Mayhem Men will never align with the Blue Bounty!"

"Why not?" Ellen asked, "Afraid?" she almost mocked. Jack had to hand it to her, she had more balls than Lee.

Duncan spat, "That Brute, he is not worth fighting with. He's a stingy bastard, only worried about the biggest cut of the pie!"

"Something tells me that, that's not the reason." Ted said. After he said this he quickly noticed that Duncan looked...worried.

Jack noticed it too, "Blue Bounty...they have one of your men." Jack said, "Don't they...it's a man that holds you back."

"Yes!" Duncan yelled, "But that concerns you no-"

"Duncan..." Jack said, "You know where the Blue Bounty is?" he asked. Duncan scratched his chin, as paced in front of Jack.

"Yes, I do."

Lee, surprisingly quickly spoke to Jack through the comm, "Why don't we cut him a deal, after all he is the only one who can get us to Ghez."

Jack clicked his teeth. It was a tough call. Align with these mercenaries, these killers, and criminals. Or blast their way through, and risk losing Ghez Volzon all together.

"Duncan..." Jack said, "I have a proposition for you."

**(A/N) Hello, guys and gals. Sorry, I know it's been forever since I updated. And sorry again, because this chapter is so short! But I hope you enjoy it. Please leave a review. It'll encourage my next update. ;) The next update will most likely delve into the rest of Ghost Teams whereabouts. But that's I'll reveal for now!**

**Cheers,**

**DantesClover**


	7. The Split

**Unknown Planet. Date October 28th, 2527.**

**[] [] []**

"I'm just saying don't you think it's a waste of resources...I mean were Spartans, not your run of the mill Marines." Null Spartan 002 said, his voice raspy and hard, the team called him Tyson.

"Orders, are orders." Null Spartan 001 replied, his name was William, "We follow them no matter how ridiculous they seem."

Tyson rolled his eyes from behind his SPI helmet. One thing that was nice about the Spartan-II's armor, was the helmets. They provided a shield...so insubordination was almost allowed.

"Come on William...you can't tell me this isn't a little strange." Null Spartan 006 asked, also called Besany. "Protecting Civilians from insurrectionists...that's odd."

"Well it certainly isn't ordinary." Rachel chimed in, Null Spartan 003. The comms in each of the Spartans helmets, provided them with privacy from the outside.

"Meanwhile Jack is running black ops missions somewhere in Arcadia." Ivan chuckled to himself, "Demon certainly has his work cut out for him."

William suddenly turned over to him, "How do you know about Jack's black ops mission?" William asked, his tone stern.

Ivan quickly covered, "He let all of us know before he left. Even you." Ivan pointed, "So don't act like I've been snooping around files." Ivan said, covering his true actions, "Cause I haven't."

William shrugged nonchalantly and continued pacing back and forth. His assault rifle in hand. The planet they were protecting had three recent attacks from insurrectionists in the past month. Each involved more deaths than the last.

Besany sharpened her knife against the knee guards of her MJLONIR Mark IV armor. "I'm just anxious to shoot something." Besany chuckled. Though deep in her subconscious...she was worrying about Jack.

"Well, hopefully if were doing our job right...we won't have to." William replied. "These people have lost families. The best we can do is protect the families that are alive."

"And get revenge on the bastards that took their families." Tyson said, putting his two sense in. this caused William to frown.

The Five Null Spartans had been put on this assignment, roughly the same time as Jack was sent on his top secret mission. It wasn't a secret to the team that Dr. Halsey found Jack...intriguing. She tried not to play favorites, but there was some she cared more for. Especially after the loss of Ferris.

The street the Spartans were on was filled with merchants, and other stands. Some of the trinkets caught Rachel's eyes, she was often called, 'Lady,' by the team...due to her unsuppressed ladylike habits. Unlike most of the female Spartans, this was not drilled out of her.

Moving through the crowded streets the Spartans caught many eyes, after all their height made them look like giants, and their armor made them look like robots. So you can imagine the shouts from children, and the reaction from humans.

Their mission was simple, provide protection from insurrectionists or innies, as most civilians and Marines called them, for as long as necessary. Halsey told them it would not be a permanent assignment, that they would be transferred if the threat was neutralized or if, the attacks remained inconsistent for longer than one month.

In theory the mission sounded like fun and easy going...but for Spartans...it was quite boring. This was stuff they gave to Marines, but intel had shown that the insurrectionists had recovered some weaponry that could possibly be linked with the Covenant. Marines were out, and Spartans were in.

It's funny, because most of the Spartans job now was patrolling around, and acting as security, because that's what they were hired to do.

Tyson might be right...could be a waste of resources.

"I wonder if Jack is having as much fun as us...after all we are just sitting around." the Russian Spartan, Ivan laughed heartily. And the others chuckled.

**Planet Arcadia. One Day after the drop.**

**[] [] []**

"Lee I need covering fire! Don't just stand around!" Null Spartan 007 they called 'Jack' yelled over the gunfire. Jack was known for his JFO helmet that he had carved...originally it had been a skull...but he changed it for something his style...a Wolf's head.

"You got it sir!" the ODST named Lee yelled, and popped up from behind cover, firing the SMG from behind the cover of the pillar.

Jack and his team of ODST were charging their way to the leader of the Blue Bounty, a large Brute named Wurm. They were helping out the Mayhem Men, which were a group of insurrectionists, and mercenaries who believed in a 'one species only,' world. Whack jobs like that. Now the Blue Bounty one the other hand was a mixed species military, from Jackals, and Grunts, to Brutes and Elites.

While most of these outer species creatures were still unknown to the UNSC, and other major military branches. But for people like ONI, and Halsey...they were well known.

Jack slid over cover, and quickly pulled back the trigger to his DMR. The four bullets sped to their target, dropping three grunts that were charging for them. "Ted, on me!" Jack shouted.

Ted bolted from behind the staircase, and made it to Jack's six. The location they were raiding on Arcadia was ghetto, dark, and very, very, dangerous. Especially having the two rival factions on one planet, and in the same city.

The pillars supported the stairwell moving upward, it wasn't a floor, it was simply a way to get to the top merchants, and other streets. However, all civilian and unauthorized personal had been evacuated. Spartans, Blue Bounty, and Mayhem Men, were the only life forms present. The city the that Jack and the ODST were on was called 'Zeta,' it was set up like an outside mall, with apartments, and other housing buildings all down the streets, alleys also graced this path.

Jack tossed a smoke grenade down the alley, and then planted into the cover of a nearby alleyway. The sound of assault rifles, and plasma weaponry filled the ears of the ODST, and of the Blue Bounty. After about sixty seconds...the sounds died down. "Hold." Jack whispered through the comms.

Ellen, and Anders knelt down, reloading their weapons, and waiting for the next order. The smoke slowly started to clear as time elapsed.

Jack flicked the visor of his helmet, causing him to see in IR, catching any life forms that would appear from the smoke. "Targets down..." Jack said, "Everybody on me, I'll take point." Jack said, as he moved through the smoke.

"I don't like this..." Ellen said, there's a lot of windows up here..." Ellen said, glancing up at the roofs, and the windows. "It's a good spot for an ambush."

"Yeah well don't jinx us." Anders snapped, as he closely followed Jack, "See anything?" Anders asked, as the five soldiers moved forward along the straight path forwards.

"Not a thing..." Jack said, "Either we scared him off...or Ghez scared them off." Jack said, moving up the alleyway, passing several weapons depots, and strip clubs. "And if it's the latter...why can't we see him." Jack snarled from behind his helmet. Jack raised his hand, and the team stopped.

"Okay." Jack said, "Here's what we'll do, continue forward down this street. I know the massive amounts of buildings, and shops is the spot for an ambush, but my HUD is picking up traces of Ghez Volzon's foot prints, he was certainly here. He could very well be here."

Ellen, Ted, Anders, and Lee all nodded, "Copy that." they said in unison. The five of them, continued their pace forward...in silence.

The silence was broken by Anders, "Why the fuck are there dead Blue Bounty down here?" he asked in confusion. "We haven't come down here."

"Shit..." Jack exhaled, "Everybody keep a sharp eye out...if Ghez is here...he's got one hell of a vantage point." Jack swallowed.

Suddenly the sound of a needle rifle caused Jack to turn. The needle bolt went clean through Lee's thigh, causing him to fall. The ejection of the next bolt was aimed for Ellen's face. Jack leapt backwards, and caught the round in his chest, causing it to explode. "Suppressive fire!" Jack yelled at the top of his lungs. The order caused every ODST, aside from the wounded Anders, to snap into attention, immediately firing on the position of the sniper.

Jack lifted Anders up with one hand, and with one swing, flung him behind the cover of the alley. Rounds burned the barrels of the soldiers guns, each bullet sped towards the shadowy location of the sniper. Jack would not relent, he continuously moved forward pulling the trigger as fast as his finger would allow. The bullets cracked the cement pillars that concealed the sniper. "Ted, Ellen, cover me, I'm moving up!" Jack shouted.

"Covering!" Ted yelled, as he popped out from behind the alleyway and fired at the second story of building in front of them.

"Covering!" Ellen called out in unison, as she too fired at the second story. The rounds from her assault rifle littered the floor beneath her feet.

"Lee get to Anders!" Jack ordered as he dove forward towards the broken down and rusted doors of the building. "Patch him up and get him back in the fight!"

Lee sprinted over to Anders, "Copy that!" he yelled as he slid over to Anders. Anders was clutching his thigh in immense pain. "Easy there pal, were gonna make it."

Jack kicked in the doors, and checked the corners of the first level, his helmet scanning the room for enemies, "Ellen, Ted, I've reached the first floor, I'm moving to the second, the inside of this place is littered with bodies, some human, some off-worlders." Jack said as he sprinted over to the staircase leading to the second story.

"Were covering you Jack, just get to him quick, with this guys accuracy, I wouldn't be surprised if he could shoot the wings off of a fly." Ellen commented.

Jack nodded, "Copy that." he said. Quickly dropping the magazine to his DMR, and reloading, Jack kicked in the doors to the second story level. "Freeze!" Jack yelled, as he leveled his DMR. But to his surprise...no one was there. "ODST, I've lost visual on contact, regroup on me, we'll discuss our next course of action." Jack said.

He had barely finished his sentence, when he felt the sudden impact of a body. Jack spun around on his back, and covered his face. The Elite snarled at him with his four mandibles, "Puny human!" the Elite snarled as he attempted to strike Jack.

Jack clenched his fist, and then slammed his knuckles into the Elites neck, knocking him off of him. Jack rolled to his right and stood to his feet. The picture matched the description, the elite he was face to face with was none other than Ghez Volzon. This fight would not be easy.

**(A/N) Hey guys and gals, just an update on what's been happening, I have not forgotten about this story. Promise. In fact I have been trying to write more of this story...it's just I have been quite busy lately. I do apologize, Halo 4 is coming out very soon, I'm certain EVERYONE is stoked. I'll be doing my best to update more. I'm sorry it's short, but I don't want to put out shitty chapters, that's something I'm against. I was able to write this, and end it reasonably, but also able to pick it up should the inspiration hit me later. So enjoy, please read and review. Also thank you to the readers who have recently started reading, your views are appreciated, as are your reviews. :)**

**Cheers,**

**DantesClover**


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